Whistleblower says MARTA had 2 sets of books, allege overcharging and deception on major projects

A former deputy director of MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority), Josh Rowan, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the transit agency, alleging that he was terminated after discovering discrepancies in project accounting and millions of dollars in overcharges by consultants.

Rowan, who was second-in-command to MARTA general manager Collie Greenwood, filed his complaint in Fulton County Superior Court.

According to the lawsuit, Rowan was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the “More MARTA” initiative, a voter-approved program aimed at improving public transportation infrastructure in metropolitan Atlanta.

The lawsuit claims that despite nearly seven years of sales tax collection for the initiative, no construction projects had broken ground, and the program was significantly over budget and behind schedule.

Rowan alleges that a third-party consultant, Carrie Rocha, who oversaw the costs and schedules of 17 projects funded by More MARTA, kept a separate spreadsheet with different numbers than the official records maintained by the department.

This private version was reportedly sent to Atlanta and other stakeholders. The lawsuit points out a $6 million discrepancy between the two sets of records on a monthly financial report to be provided to the City of Atlanta.

The legal complaint also raises concerns about “wasteful spending” in a contract with engineering consultants HNTB. Rowan claims that consultants often overcharged for their services, citing a $3 million charge for planning the renovation of the Bankhead transit station, which he deemed “exorbitantly high.” A subsequent proposal from HNTB reportedly increased the charge to $9 million for the same work.

Rowan contends that several current or former MARTA executives had previously worked for HNTB, creating a potential conflict of interest. He had scheduled a meeting with Greenwood on January 5, 2023, to discuss his findings and request the termination of Rocha’s consulting job. However, on the same day, Rowan was fired by Greenwood, who reportedly stated that MARTA wanted to go in a “different direction” without providing further explanation.

MARTA released a statement expressing its intent to aggressively defend itself against the “baseless allegations,” claiming that the lawsuit demonstrates a lack of understanding of how MARTA operates. The case brings attention to the challenges and controversies surrounding major infrastructure projects and consultant relationships within the transit authority.