The executive hired this summer to run Dallas Area Rapid Transit is named in a subpoena from Florida's attorney general seeking spending records from the Jacksonville transit agency he has led, The Dallas Morning News and FOX 4 reported Wednesday.
Nathaniel Ford Sr. is scheduled to become DART's president and CEO on Oct. 26 after 13 years in charge of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. The subpoena from Attorney General James Uthmeier's Office of Statewide Prosecution covers agency records from 2023 through 2025, according to the Morning News.
It seeks records on tuition reimbursements, card statements, money spent on massages and murals, and ridership figures from the authority's self-driving vehicle program, along with emails and texts involving Ford and others.
FOX 4 described the matter as a criminal investigation into spending at the authority during Ford's tenure. The authority confirmed on Sept. 29 that it had received the subpoena and said it was "prepared to fully cooperate," the Morning News reported, citing Jacksonville Today. FOX 4 reported the records are due Oct. 20. Neither outlet reported that Ford or anyone else has been charged.
Money trouble in Jacksonville
The Jacksonville agency is working through a shortfall of roughly $39 million. FOX 4 reported it eliminated 194 positions and cut bus routes to get through the fiscal year.
Megan Hayward, a former authority board member who told FOX 4 she was removed after questioning how money was spent, said riders with the fewest options are the ones "paying the price."
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan was also subpoenaed, for records tied to her 2025 meeting with an ex-board member, WJXT-TV reported, according to the Morning News. Deegan, who vouched for Ford with DART board members, has said she will cooperate. She called him "a visionary" when the Morning News interviewed her in July.
