Trucking Consortium Official Sentenced in Drug-Fraud Case |
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
September 20, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 20, 2000
Contact: David Longo, 202-366-0456
FMCSA 16-00
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) announced today that Raymond Kerr, the operator of Kerr Transportation Services, Inc., a drug-testing consortium based in Vadnais Heights, Minn., was sentenced and required to pay restitution for mail fraud because he violated the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) federal drug-testing regulations.
"Preventing high-risk motor carriers and dangerous truck and bus drivers from operating on the highways is important for the safety of all motorists," said Clyde J. Hart Jr., FMCSA acting deputy administrator. "Ensuring that commercial motor vehicle drivers are properly drug-tested is part of that effort to improve safety, which is President Clinton and Vice President Gore’s highest transportation priority."
Kerr was sentenced on Aug. 16, in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, for defrauding hundreds of trucking companies that relied on Kerr for random drug-testing of truck drivers. Kerr originally pleaded guilty on March 8. He was sentenced to four months’ incarceration and 36 months’ supervised release, and also was required to pay $8,641 in restitution.
USDOT regulations require all motor carriers to randomly test their commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers for drugs and alcohol. Carriers may choose to form consortia for random drug and alcohol testing on behalf of all drivers within the group formed.
Kerr operated such a consortium (Kerr Transportation Services) from 1995 to 1997 and was to test approximately 1,200 drivers. Kerr collected fees of $33 to $55 for each participating driver, but failed to test randomly selected drivers for drugs. He was charged with mail fraud after he sent letters to participating motor carriers, falsely advising them that they were in compliance with DOT regulations.
While conducting motor carrier compliance reviews (safety audits) in 1995 and 1996, Minnesota FMCSA safety specialists determined that carriers contracting with Kerr Transportation Services had no records to indicate their CMV drivers had been randomly selected for drug and alcohol testing. Once it was determined that a pattern of non-compliance existed, the matter was turned over to the USDOT’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) in Chicago for criminal investigation.
FMCSA worked in cooperation with the OIG, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Attorney in Minneapolis to bring this case to a conclusion.