MTA Inspector General Daniel G. Cort today announced the results of an investigation that found overbilling by an automotive repair shop (Repair Shop) that serviced Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) non-revenue vehicles, identifying more than $1.6 million in charges for parts that the shop could not prove it had installed. Between June 2022 and June 2024, the shop billed the LIRR nearly $4.5 million more than the next-highest auto repair vendor used by the agency.
The Office of the MTA Inspector General (OIG) also found oversight failures by both LIRR’s Vehicle Fleet Management Office and the MTA’s outside Fleet Management Firm, which are responsible for reviewing invoices and approving repair work. Neither entity requested the required backup documentation and the LIRR did not confirm that repairs were completed by the Repair Shop — vulnerabilities previously identified in OIG’s December 2025 audit of the MTA’s fleet‑oversight contract.
After OIG raised concerns with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the DMV inspected five LIRR vehicles serviced by the Repair Shop and determined that LIRR had been fraudulently billed for work on four of them. An Administrative Law Judge found that OIG’s concerns were warranted but determined the evidence did not meet the required burden of proof to sustain the DMV’s charges. LIRR ceased doing business with the Repair Shop in early 2025 upon learning of OIG’s concerns.
“This repair shop couldn’t account for more than a million dollars in parts it claimed to have installed in LIRR vehicles — and the systems designed to catch those discrepancies failed,” said MTA Inspector General Daniel Cort. “This lack of oversight by LIRR exposes the MTA to wasteful payments by unscrupulous vendors. I want to thank the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for their assistance with this investigation.”
OIG began its investigation after receiving complaints, including from an LIRR employee, that the Repair Shop was severely inflating bills and sending cars back with unnecessary, often expensive repairs.
OIG reviewed purchase orders from June 21, 2022 to June 21, 2024, and found the Repair Shop failed to provide complete invoices for parts for 564 of 1,398 orders, amounting to $1.68 million in undocumented parts.
OIG reaffirmed six recommendations from its 2025 audit of the fleet-oversight contract, emphasizing that agencies must have the technical expertise and processes to verify that repairs are needed, completed, and properly billed. LIRR informed OIG that it is strengthening oversight, participating in an all-agency procurement for a new Fleet Management Vendor, updating job requirements to include certified mechanical qualifications, and adding two positions to meet those needs.
