Richard Brega Charged in $1M School Bus Repair Scam

Richard Brega, owner of Brega D.O.T. Maintenance Corp., has been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, fraud, theft, bribery, and obstruction of justice for allegedly billing Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) for school bus maintenance that was never performed. The scheme, which ran from 2008 to 2015, defrauded the publicly funded transportation system of hundreds of thousands of dollars—diverting taxpayer money meant for student safety into private pockets.

William Popkave, a former Rockland BOCES official, pleaded guilty today to the same charges in a five-count Information unsealed in White Plains federal court. Prosecutors allege Popkave knowingly approved false invoices submitted by Brega, allowing the fraud to persist unchecked for years. Rockland BOCES, which serves eight school districts and operates a fleet of buses including those specially equipped for disabled students, relied on these maintenance records to ensure vehicle safety.

According to the indictment, Brega’s company was contracted to perform preventive maintenance, inspections, and repairs on the BOCES bus fleet. Yet, FBI investigators found that many buses were never brought into the shop for the services billed. Despite this, invoices were processed and paid using federal funds—BOCES receives over $1 million in federal aid annually, making the fraud a violation of federal anti-theft statutes.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called the scheme a betrayal of public trust: “Richard Brega and William Popkave allegedly engaged in a corrupt scheme to charge Rockland County school districts for school bus repairs and maintenance that were never actually performed, then tried to cover their tracks through fake invoices and deceptive money transactions.” Bharara added that the fraud “risked making school buses, including some used for disabled children, less safe.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. emphasized the recklessness of the defendants: “Brega’s company was responsible for servicing a fleet of Rockland BOCES buses, some of which were used for physically disabled students. As alleged, Brega billed for services that were never completed. In fact, many of the buses hadn’t even been brought to the repair shop where the work would have been performed.”

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe confirmed that BOCES administrators were unaware of the fraud. “The allegations in this case highlight the essence of greed and extremely poor judgment by a former employee and the operator of Rockland County’s largest provider of public transportation,” Zugibe said. The case was brought by the Joint Public Corruption Task Force, which continues to investigate abuse of public office and taxpayer-funded systems.