Former MARTA Executive Pleads Guilty to $500K False Invoice Scam
ATLANTA – In a shocking turn of events, Joseph J. Erves, the former Senior Director of Operations at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a false invoice scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work that was never performed.
According to court documents, Erves, 52, of Lithonia, Georgia, used his authority to approve payments up to $10,000 to vendors for work performed on behalf of MARTA. However, Erves had fake invoices prepared on behalf of three different vendors for more than 40 maintenance projects for which no work was performed.
Erves then used the false invoices as bases to authorize payments to the three vendors. In many cases, Erves personally approved payments to the vendors knowing that the vendors had not performed any work for MARTA. After being paid, the three vendors funneled most of the money received from MARTA into Erves’s personal bank accounts.
Erves used the money deposited into his accounts to pay personal expenses, such as multiple purchases at high-end department stores and the purchase of a Porsche 911. Based on Erves’s authority and representations, MARTA paid the three vendors more than $500,000 for maintenance projects where no work was actually performed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the MARTA Police Department are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Alison Prout are prosecuting the case.
Erves was charged via criminal information with one count of Federal Program Theft on August 24, 2017. He has pleaded guilty to the information.
The case highlights the brazen nature of public corruption and the devastating impact it can have on taxpayers.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Joseph J. Erves
Criminal Charges: Federal Program Theft
City and State: Atlanta, Georgia
Date: August 24, 2017
Sentence: Pleaded Guilty
Dollar Amounts: $500,000
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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