State Attorney Subpoenas JTA for Records Involving Executives

The 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office has issued a subpoena to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) for records involving top executives and several transit projects.

This legal demand increases scrutiny for an agency currently facing a roughly $39 million budget shortfall. Investigators are looking into a wide range of operations, including the Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation (NAVI) service, the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C), the Skyway, and the Bay Street Innovation Corridor.

The investigation follows recent service disruptions, including the suspension of Skyway service on November 2 and the scheduled pause of NAVI service on January 1, 2027. As city officials weigh options to stabilize JTA’s finances, the state attorney’s office is demanding documents that could clarify how funds have been managed during this period of instability.

The subpoena, which covers the period from Oct. 1, 2023, through the present, targets communications regarding budget shortfalls, financial disclosures, and procurement. Investigators are specifically seeking employment agreements, corporate card statements, and travel records for several high-ranking officials. These include now-former CEO Nat Ford, interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson, Jeffrey Smith, Randall Barnes, Jessica Shepler, and Richard Clark.

Beyond personnel files, the state attorney’s office is examining the agency’s relationships with various vendors. The request includes bid documents, purchase orders, and procurement policies for several companies:

Mason Nye Murals
Dream Builders Communications
Team Pegine Inc. and the GEMS Initiative
Gannett Fleming and TranSystems
Jones-Worley Designs
Jacobs Project Management Company
KL2 Connects, LLC
WSP USA

The inquiry also extends to any wellness services provided or funded for JTA employees or board members. This scrutiny comes as the agency faces intense pressure to account for its spending while transit services are being scaled back or halted entirely.

This is not the first time the agency has been compelled to turn over internal documents. On Tuesday, JTA released records produced in response to a second subpoena from the Florida Attorney General’s Office. That previous request, which included contract information, specific salary details, and travel documentation, followed a criminal investigative subpoena issued by the attorney general’s office in early October.

While JTA released various contract and salary documents on Tuesday afternoon, the agency has not yet released the specific text or email communications requested by the attorney general’s office. News4JAX has asked JTA for the status of those specific records.

The growing list of legal demands highlights a deepening crisis at the agency. Earlier releases of documents in response to the attorney general’s first subpoena had already detailed spending on training and consulting, as well as statements from JTA purchasing cards. Now, the state attorney’s office is moving in to examine ridership and transit performance records for bus, NAVI, and Skyway services dating back to Jan. 1, 2023.

The subpoena directs JTA to produce all requested records by Nov. 20.

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