Um, About Those DSS Taxi Rides
It seems the FBI has some questions and is investigating two local taxicab companies that took the Mecklenburg Department of Social Services for a ride – or not, in multiple cases allegedly bilking the taxpayers for phantom trips. This from WCNC:
The two cab companies made up about two-thirds of the DSS billing in 2009, Crown Cab and AA Prestige Taxicab, which billed $5.2 million.
Now sworn testimony and documents made public in a federal civil lawsuit between Crown Cab and its insurance company, Travelers Indemnity, reveal multiple drivers at Crown billed taxpayers for trips they did not make.
In a sworn deposition taken on January 14, 2011, former Crown General Manager Bhanu Contractor was asked if he recalled drivers who were “…essentially defrauding DSS…?” His answer: “Yes.”
Another Crown supervisor, Jeffrey Hinkelman, testified in his January 11 deposition, “There was (sic) some drivers that had built up some serious falsifications to the DSS that a couple of them I believe got suspended for – for falsifying their – the work that they claimed they had done.”
In a letter dated February 9, 2010 attached as an exhibit in the civil case, Bhanu Contractor wrote to a third driver documenting 63 trips for one DSS client and 20 trips for a second client that “…you did not do.” Mecklenburg DSS Director Mary Wilson issued a statement through a County spokesman saying the agency had only detected one instance of fraud involving taxicabs in the last four years.
Wilson’s statement says DSS has adopted multiple checks to detect fraud and to train employees to look for “red flags.”
…
Crown Cab lost its contract with DSS last year. The agency contends the company turned in its bid just minutes after the deadline. Crown is now suing DSS in state court over the decision.
After much criticism, DSS has sharply reduced the amount it pays for taxicab service for its clients and is instead relying much more on CATS for public transportation.
Crown Cab, it should be noted, is one of three companies being recommended to receive lucrative contracts to serve Charlotte Douglas Airport. That recommendation is currently on hold, as the city council reviews the contract award process that has become mired in lawsuits and allegations of pay-to-play corruption.
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