The Florida Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, issuing a criminal subpoena seeking a wide range of records involving former CEO Nat Ford, agency spending, tuition and scholarships, contracts and ridership data. JTA confirmed the subpoena Tuesday, Sept. 29, and said it is cooperating.
According to an internal memo from interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson, investigators are seeking records primarily from October 2023 through October 2025, including communications involving Ford, his wife and the owner of an organizational development firm. The subpoena also seeks information about JTA’s tuition reimbursement policy, scholarships, certain contracts and communications involving Ferguson.
Investigators are also examining public-transit ridership data, including numbers associated with NAVI, JTA’s autonomous vehicle program. City Councilman Rory Diamond, JTA’s council liaison, noted that government transit funding can be tied to ridership and said inaccurate reporting could have serious consequences if it resulted in JTA receiving money it was not entitled to. Diamond stressed that he does not know whether that occurred.
The investigation comes during one of the most turbulent periods in JTA’s recent history. The authority is trying to close a $39 million budget gap, laying off nearly 200 employees and reducing transit service. JTA has also received approval to use $30 million in local gas-tax revenue to address financial obligations, with the money to be repaid over 10 years.
WHY IT MATTERS: The inquiry moves questions surrounding JTA beyond City Hall oversight and into a state criminal investigation. But a criminal subpoena is a demand for evidence — not a finding that JTA, Ford or anyone else committed a crime. What investigators find in the requested financial, contracting and ridership records will determine where the probe goes next.