Opinion: School bus camera traffic tickets: $100 million for nothing

Citations issued by county since 2016 have not produced a measurable safety benefit

In June 2023, the Montgomery County Policing Advisory Commission issued a report entitled “PAC Findings and Recommendations on MCPD Traffic Enforcement” that stated:

“The effectiveness of traffic enforcement must be measured against its impact on traffic accidents. That is the only appropriate metric for measuring effectiveness.”

The county’s school bus stop-light ticketing program can therefore be evaluated by answering a simple question using this trusted metric: Have there been fewer collisions between passing vehicles and student pedestrians near school buses since the county’s school bus camera enforcement program went into effect in 2016 when compared to the five years before it was implemented? The answer is a definite “no.”

On July 23, 2019, the retiring inspector general of Montgomery County, Edward L. Blansitt  III, submitted his “Final Advisory Memorandum, Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the School Bus Safety Camera Program.” Mr. Blansitt provided this key finding regarding school bus-related pedestrian safety in the county: ...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/05/03/opinion-school-bus-camera-traffic-tickets-100-million-for-nothing/

Gymnasts sue FBI for $1 billion over mishandling of Larry Nassar case

A group of 90 women that includes former U.S. Olympic team gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman filed a lawsuit against the FBI, alleging it mishandled its investigation of former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar, allowing him to continue to sexually abuse them even after they had reported him to the bureau in 2015.

The women are collectively seeking more than $1 billion from the FBI in a lawsuit filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a 1946 law that makes the United States liable for injuries “caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment.” They join 13 others who in April filed a similar lawsuit against the FBI, citing a July report released by the Justice Department’s inspector general that found the bureau failed to properly investigate serious sex-abuse allegations against Nassar.

“The FBI knew that Larry Nassar was a danger to children when his abuse of me was first reported in September of 2015. For 421 days they worked with USA Gymnastics and USOPC to hide this information from the public and allowed Nassar to continue molesting young women and girls. It is time for the FBI to be held accountable,” former Team USA gymnast Maggie Nichols said in a statement released by lawyers representing the group of women...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2022/06/08/larry-nassar-victims-fbi-lawsuit/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3DIPZFyAa5SiIG52no2X7bo8OFabTpujqqiocLMOCxN4vskqOB7paaXao

Montgomery College Releases Details of Fraud Scheme Perpetrated in September 2019 Including Independent Audit Findings, Net Losses of $1.7M

 

• October 1, 2020
• In September of 2019, Montgomery College (MC) was the victim of a targeted cybersecurity attack from entities outside the College. The intrusion, classified as cyber fraud, allowed funds to be stolen and placed in a fraudulent bank account. In a memorandum issued this morning to MC employees, students, and constituents, College officials outlined the total loss of the crime, additional details of the crime, the independent financial auditor’s findings, and several of the additional control measures the College has taken to ensure attacks like this are dealt with accordingly.
  
  The financial audit for the fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, has now been closed. Clifton Larson Allen (CLA), the certified public accounting firm hired to perform our annual financial statement audits, issued its opinion September 30, 2020.
  
  The original amount of loss was $2.8 million—an amount that was invoiced by a legitimate vendor. Appropriate controls were adhered to by MC’s staff in multiple departments to verify the legitimacy of the invoicing. However, criminals manipulated a process that allowed the diversion of payments to a fraudulent bank account.
  
  Because the College acted quickly, $1.1 million—39 percent of the loss—has been recovered. The College has worked diligently with law enforcement agencies and its bank to pursue the perpetrators and restore the funds. The College immediately took action after the incident, completing a thorough internal investigation and working tirelessly with the FBI, banking partners, accreditors, and Montgomery County’s inspector general. The College communicated the fraud incident to both the internal College community and to local media.
  
  Several new internal controls were put in place immediately following the incident, including fraud awareness training, which was delivered to almost 300 employees at the College over three months. The College’s cybersecurity training, which also strengthens employee vigilance around attempted intrusions, has been taken by more than 2,000 employees in the last 13 months. The College continues to provide trainings that strengthen employees’ skills at fraud detection in an effort to protect the institution from future attacks. In addition, the College hired a separate accounting firm, independent of CLA, to perform an audit of its financial controls as well as an audit of vendors and contracts management. This audit concluded in August 2020 and provided additional recommendations for financial controls and vendor management.
  
  The College’s net loss of $1.7 million represents 0.5% of the College’s fiscal year 2020 budget. The financial loss did not and is not preventing the College from continuing standard operations. As of this time, MC has no new information from the FBI related to its criminal investigation. These types of investigations can take several years and are sometimes connected to wider networks of fraudulent activity. There is no evidence that any College employees were involved in the fraud scheme and MC employees remain the most valuable assets in fraud prevention.
  
  Although the College was a victim in this fraud scheme it is taking this opportunity to affirm the longstanding commitment to sound financial practices and to any improved protocols that might grow out of the investigations. The College is still hoping to recover more of the stolen funds through ongoing investigations. Given MC’s strong fiscal stewardship, it is able to manage this loss within the budget and will not ask the county or state to make up for the lost funds.
  
  This experience has been a lesson in the sophistication that criminals have developed around fraudulent incursions and a reminder that Montgomery College and its stakeholders must all remain vigilant.

11/18 TODAY at 2PM Watch as Council Covers Up No Bid Contract That Violates Maryland Law. $18M+ Goes to Vendor, $0 to County. No IG Oversight. No AUDIT.

TODAY at 2PM Watch as Council Covers Up No Bid Contract That Violates Maryland Law. $18M+ Goes to Vendor, $0 to County. No IG Oversight. No AUDIT. https://t.co/QIsahemLzI https://t.co/ffGbcyATLs

— Parents' Coalition (@PCMC1) November 18, 2019

All Committee meetings are televised live, except those indicated below that are on County Cable Montgomery,
streaming live at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/ondemand/index.html
Videos are archived and available on-demand 24 hours after the meeting concludes.

"County has spent aproximately $750,000 from its operating budget for positions related" to the School Bus Camera deal. But County gets Zero from Fines.

Here is the link to the 30 page Montgomery County Inspector General's Report (link to WTOP story) on the MCPS/Police School Bus Camera Program.

"...Based on this statement, from the inception of this contract, we estimate that the County has spent approximately $750,000 from its operating budget for additional MCPD positions related to this program.4 Although over $10 million of ticket revenue has been transferred to the vendor, neither the County nor MCPS (based on the contract) has received any ticket proceeds from this program... " (Page 2)

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2020/mcpd_mcps_bus_cameras_adv_memo_28_jun_2019.pdf

FBI PSA: EDUCATION TECHNOLOGIES: DATA COLLECTION AND UNSECURED SYSTEMS COULD POSE RISKS TO STUDENTS

The FBI is encouraging public awareness of cyber threat concerns related to K-12 students. The US school systems’ rapid growth of education technologies (EdTech) and widespread collection of student data could have privacy and safety implications if compromised or exploited...


https://www.ic3.gov/media/2018/180913.aspx