Summary

On May 16, 2016, Mark W. McGregor, of Charles Town, WV, was charged and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Alexandria, VA, to bribery concerning Federal program funds for his role in a bribery scheme that caused $380,000 in losses to the U.S. Government. 

According to the information and plea agreement, McGregor served as the chief executive officer of Virginia Regional Transit (VRT), a nonprofit organization that provides transportation services throughout Northern Virginia. VRT is funded by a combination of Federal, State and local grants, including from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). McGregor engaged in a bribery scheme with Thomas Ahalt, then president of Mobile Auto Truck Repair (“Mobile Auto”), an automotive repair business in Purcellville, VA, since 2007. Mobile Auto provided automotive repair services to VRT.

From January 2007 through December 2015, Mobile Auto submitted—and McGregor caused to be approved—false invoices for additional weekly labor charges. McGregor approved and VRT paid to Mobile Auto approximately $380,000 in fraudulent additional weekly labor charges. A portion of the monies VRT paid to Mobile Auto were Federal program funds originating from FTA. In exchange, McGregor received regular kickback payments from Ahalt and others associated with Mobile Auto totaling half of the additional weekly labor charges. In total, McGregor received approximately $190,000 in kickback payments.

We are conducting this investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.