New Jersey School Construction Fraud

Recently, there have been a number of articles on the New Jersey School Construction Corporation. The original “SCC” was charged with building schools in areas of need. However, many years later we are left to wonder about the success of the program. Pundits say that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent, with no real accounting. Supporters feel that schools have been completed in areas that might not have been otherwise helped.
The original “SCC” was abolished in 2007 and replaced by the School Construction Authority.
Governor Christie recently stopped payments on a Burlington County high school. The reason; the $27 million project was $17 million over budget. Where does all the money go? Some goes to acquiring property. However, in Gloucester City $13 million was spent acquiring 70 properties and no school has been built. In Camden, 34 properties were acquired and no school there either.
Many believe that there is waste and fraud that has siphoned off money. Interestingly, there is now a way for the state to recover the money lost through fraud. In 2008 New Jersey instituted a False Claims Act. The Act allows individuals to be paid for disclosing fraud to the State of New Jersey.