Investigations

On August 19, 2019, Tian Jian Pan, former president of Universe Bus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to 37 months of time served, 36 months of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee. Pan pled guilty in March 2019, for his role in a long-running conspiracy to fraudulently operate multiple bus companies along the East Coast.

 

According to the indictment, Pan and 13 other defendants conspired to form, control, manage, and operate numerous bus companies—including All-State Travel Bus, Asia Tours, Apex Bus, New Egg Bus, and Universe Bus—in multiple States, and routinely falsified FMCSA Motor Carrier Identification Reports and applications for operating authority. These activities concealed the identities of the companies’ actual operators and the fact that the buses were unsafe.

 

The investigation revealed that the defendants conspired to falsify FMCSA-regulated records related to bus safety, maintenance, and driver qualifications to impede Agency inspections and reviews. Specifically, they submitted false documents indicating that the companies had driver safety and training programs in place when they did not, and false records related to accident registers, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, drug and alcohol testing programs, and their previous company affiliations. Pan admitted that he and others falsified documents that enabled their companies to obtain operating authority, licenses, stickers, insurance, and other authorities indicating that their buses met Federal and State safety standards. He further admitted that he used false identification documents to obtain a CDL, and provided false documents and information to FMCSA during a compliance review.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. FMCSA provided substantial assistance.