New jersey school bus company owner sentenced to five years for endangering students' safety

TRENTON, NJ — The owner of an Essex County-based school bus company was sentenced Thursday to five years in state prison for endangering students by hiring unqualified drivers, failing to perform drug tests and background checks, and operating unsafe vehicles.

Ahmed Mahgoub, 65, of East Hanover, New Jersey, who owned F&A Transportation, Inc., pleaded guilty last year to false representation for a government contract, according to the New Jersey Office of Attorney General. His company, which operated in multiple counties, including Essex, Passaic, Morris, and Union, secured public school transportation contracts worth $3.5 million from 2016 to 2020.

An investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and the New Jersey State Police found that Mahgoub hired drivers without valid commercial licenses or criminal background checks. Some drivers had criminal records, suspended licenses, or substance abuse problems. Additionally, Mahgoub and his company falsified vehicle inspection forms to cover up safety violations, though New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission inspections in 2019 found that nearly all of the company’s buses failed.

“The defendant not only flouted government regulations and standards, he risked the lives of children by cutting corners,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mahgoub and F&A Transportation must pay $500,000 in corruption profiteering penalties and are banned from doing business with the state for 10 years. F&A co-owner Faiza Ibrahim, 50, also entered a pretrial intervention program and faces her own penalties.

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