What MATA’s interim CEO charged to her company credit card
by: Jessica Gertler
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Area Transit Authority’s former interim CEO was recently fired after the transit agency said an internal investigation questioned spending practices and found reported policy violations.
WREG Investigators got hold of company credit card statements to get a closer look at how your taxpayer money was being spent.
We asked for these credit card statements back in September when MATA announced its $60 million deficit and again this year. With help from the Reporter’s Committee for the Freedom of the Press, MATA turned them over, because the Tennessee Records Act states they shouldn’t be secret.
A year after Bacarra Mauldin started at MATA as chief of staff in the summer of 2021, she secured her own company credit card. The then-CEO Gary Rosenfeld was the only other person at MATA who had one.
Statements show in the first six months, Mauldin spent $868 dollars Amerigo Italian Restaurant, $141 at Fancy’s Fish House, and $260 at Folks Folly Prime Steakhouse.
If you tally up the dinners, bakery and catering orders from July 2022 through 2024, the total is around $16,000 dollars.
Other charges on her card: $823 at Mednikow Jewelers for a “jewelry repair/sale” in September 2022, around $1,100 at Montblanc, which sells luxury ballpoint pens, in January 2024, and around $1,400 at Jasper Float Spa, based in downtown Memphis.
We tallied thousands of dollars in charges at Target, Sam’s Club and Amazon. The statements don’t give details what was exactly purchased.
Thousands of dollars were also spent on plane tickets and seat upgrades. Sometimes Mauldin booked separate flights from her staff on a different airline that often times would cost more money.
Her trips would also be more expensive when she flew in and out of other cities like Birmingham, where she once lived and worked.
We tallied $3,368 spent on Ubers and cabs over those two and a half years including $183 for a black car service in Ohio in June 2024. There was also a charge for around $1,300 at Tennessee Limo in May 2024.
Mauldin’s credit card statements shows charges to her sorority Delta Sigma Theta.
“I knew there were some financial challenges, but honestly, I had no idea the ride we were about to be on,” Mauldin said in an interview in November.
She stressed she didn’t know MATA was facing a $60 million shortfall until she stepped into the interim CEO role in January 2024 when Rosenfeld suddenly retired.
She also stated she was working with TransPro, which is the group the mayor brought in to study the transit authority’s operations.
The mayor appointed a new board who voted this year to let TransPro rep John Lewis temporarily lead the agency.
Shortly after, Lewis announced they found $144,000 dollars worth of purchases on the company card they believed were non-business related.
He said outside counsel has been hired to investigate the matter, and the state’s comptroller’s office was notified. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting on the results from the auditing firm the city also hired.
Mauldin was placed on leave in March.
Her attorney, Vanecia Belser Kimbrow, told Your News Leader the card was in Mauldin’s name but managed by the administration, and the charges in question have reasonable explanations.
“The expenses were 100% reimbursed as related to the spa treatment by CIGNA insurance as part of the company’s health and wellness plan,” she said.
Mauldin was terminated weeks later for reportedly violating MATA’s procurement and travel policy.
Her attorney also told us, “It’s quite remarkable that Trans Pro, self proclaimed industry experts, now seeks to lay over 8+ years of poor financial controls, operational shortfalls, mismanagement, and the ills created by the well documented underfunding of MATA for over 8 years at Mrs. Mauldin’s feet after she disclosed the sad state of MATA to its Board BEFORE she became Interim.”
She added, “Trans Pro must now earn its glory by peddling mischaracterized information that’s deminimus at best, based upon policies and procedures that existed or not, which all preceded Mrs. Mauldin’s 8 months of service as Interim CEO. Yet there’s no mention of anyone except the Black Woman that held the seat for a short 8 months?”
In a statement Wednesday, Kimbrow added, “Mauldin was dealing with the terminal illness of her mother, who has since passed” and also “struggling with a painful illness that made it impossible to travel on a small or cramped flight.”
Mauldin booked one way flights to give her “flexibility with her advocacy and meeting efforts,” and “afforded her the ability to leave a meeting and travel directly home to Birmingham to be by her dying mother’s side.”
Kimbrow stated other government agencies “give donations/sponsorships,” it’s “customary for any professional to take an Uber or car service,” and the Mont Blanc purchase was “the retirement gift” for Rosenfeld.
Lewis argued the past is now in their rearview mirror. He said the goal now is to rebuild trust and the agency’s bank account.
“It’s unfortunate we find ourselves in this situation,” he said.
When Mauldin started, two out of three buses were on time, according to the city’s website.
In 2022 and throughout 2023, half of MATA’s buses ran late. The number only improved slightly last year. As of February, the city reports 64% of buses are on time.
Bacarra Mauldin responds
Mauldin’s attorney sent WREG a response on her behalf. Here it is in its entirety:
Mrs. Mauldin is still recovering from surgery and remains on FMLA, federally protected leave, despite her unlawful termination while on leave.
Mrs. Mauldin was the interim for only a short time, 8 months to be exact. During which time she was directed by the Board to “ man the ship” while they embarked on a National Search for a permanent CEO. She took the assignment without any pay increase because she has a heart to serve the Citizens of Memphis and the employees of MATA.
I will note that during her short tenure, Mrs. Mauldin was dealing with the terminal illness of her mother, who has since passed away; as well as struggling with painful illness that made it impossible to travel on small or cramped flights.
She had been booked for surgery and FMLA prior to being appointed Interim, but given the unexpected exit of the prior CEO, she delayed a much needed surgery to “man the ship” as requested by the Board, for what had been described as a short appointment as interim while they conducted a national search for the next CEO. I’ll note that this short Interim Appointment as the Interim to man the ship came only with the interim title, and had no matching compensation. She was directed to just maintain the status quo and work with the practices, policies, and procedures that had been in place, while the Board worked to recruit a permanent CEO.
ALL of the policies and procedures Mrs. Mauldin followed were in place, and well established before she assumed the Interim Post. As Deputy, she had no direct involvement with any MATA finances, review or otherwise; but rather was charged to advocate for added funding and better conditions for the drivers, and managing relations with the riders. She had no seat at any financial planning or oversight. She often presented reports prepared for her as directed by the CEO.
The rational for her one way flights were two fold. 1) Single flights allowed her flexibility with her advocacy and meeting efforts to bring additional funds and best practices to MATA. Meetings with legislative agencies are not always definitive, and require fluidity.
2) Further, one way flights afforded her the ability to leave a meeting and travel directly home to Birmingham to be by her dying mother’s side during a very tender time. She balanced the needs of MATA while dealing with extreme physical pain and the task of being a caregiver for her terminally ill Mother.
Mrs. Mauldin required and has had two complete knee replacements. Her condition was so acutely that she could not bend her knees to fit into cramped seat, it was a physical impossibility. As such, upgrading to a seat that would accommodated her well documented medical condition was a necessity, and not a frivolous luxury.
Mrs. Mauldin’s chief responsibility as Deputy Director was Community Engagement and securing funding to support MATA. As the Chief community liaison, forging goodwill and raising the brand and profile of MATA was a core job responsibility. Therefore, partnering with an array of community groups and nonprofit organizations to raise awareness of the MATA brand was a function of her job. While you point to her supporting Get Out The Vote efforts with her sorority (whose founding principal involved promoting voting rights and awareness), the initial partnership to Get Out The Vote and MATA’s Free Rides to the Polls Campaign was a partnership with The Election Commission. Moreover, it’s not a new effort, it was just better publicized effort because of the well established work of her sorority in this space. The goal was to get voters to the polls, at no cost, to exercise their civic duty.
MATA’s voter awareness and GOTV efforts were spawned by a partnership with the Shelby County Election Commission, and was joined by all of the Divine 9 Greek Letter Organizations, and other nonprofit groups that raised Voter Awareness, and not “just” her sorority. This type public partnership is not unlike many corporate entities, including those funded by EDGE, The Memphis Chamber, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Methodist, Baptist, The City of Memphis, and Shelby County Government, to name a few.
All of the foregoing entities give donations/ sponsorships to other notable civic groups such as The Women’s Foundation and their mission to empower underserved Women in Memphis. It’s only because there is an attempt to paint her in a negative light that her community engagement work is under attack. Her creativity in this space should be celebrated, because her work empowered citizens and raised MATA’s goodwill and brand. She was doing her job masterfully.
Moreover, the policies in place regarding such community efforts preceded Mrs. Mauldin, were approved by her CEO, were supported by her Board, and were a continuation of similar approved activity that preceded her employment with MATA. Her actions were not arbitrary, but an extension of her job to build goodwill and rebuild the damaged MATA Brand.
As Deputy and Interim, she had substantial support from the broader community as well as from the bus drivers and its union for her creative approach to transportation, including the launch of a program for college students to earn while training Rogers how to use the digital apps to track busses and map routes.
The charge to Monte Blanc was the retirement gift to the former CEO Gary Rosenfeld. When traveling to multiple offices for meeting while visiting legislators, attending transit conferences or trainings, and representing MATA, it is customary for any professional to take an Uber or car service and not rent a car in a strange place or metropolitan area where parking is often hard to find and very expensive.
My office is reviewing other charges on Mrs. Mauldin’s card that was rarely in her physical possession. The standard operating practice for the credit card was that it was held by the Executive Assistant to the CEO, who would make most required purchases for the entire division, in addition to booking most of her travel arrangements. These charges were then submitted to and approved by the appropriate fiscal officer, who would sign off on the charges. While the practice may not have been ideal, it is the practice that long precede Mrs. Maudlin being asked to “man the ship” for a short time, with no CFO pay or privilege to match the title.
It was under Mrs. Mauldin’s short tenure that she ended the contract on the suite with the Grizzlies. It was Mrs. Mauldin that conducted the independent audit that revealed the grave fiscal issues that had been unreported. Mrs. Mauldins produced and presented the first budget and conducted an audit for the first time in several years. Mrs. Mauldin was the “Whistleblower”, which should have afforded her several federal protections for her job. Prior to her assuming the interim seat, she had NO involvement in the fiscal controls of MATA. It is only because of Mrs. Mauldin’s dedication to the Citizen’s of Memphis, the drivers she supported, coupled with her diligence and bravery to come forward and reveal the truth about the fiscal standing of MATA, are we here today.
This is a witch hunt and an attempt lay at years of MATA’s woes at the feet of Mrs. Mauldin, which proof will show that she is the victim and a patsy of an embarrassed administration and a non-performing replacement. Trans-Pro didn’t blow the lid off the financial misgivings and dated /lacking policies and controls, it was Mrs. Baccara Mauldin. It is Mrs. Mauldin that the public should be thanking for her courage and bravery to tell the truth last fall.
If you all would review the timeline of the meetings and presentations and findings of the audit that Mrs. Mauldin had completed, as well as the “Whistleblower” status that had been assigned to her by MATA’s prior legal counsel, who was abruptly fired by John Lewis of Trans Pro, after being advised during her short tenure, it will show that her goal as exhibited by her exemplary efforts to get an audit, produce financials for the first time in over 18 months, was to Right the Ship and not simply Man The Ship, as she had been charged by her Board. Her story will prove to be groundbreaking as this saga unfolds with pending litigation as soon as my client is recovered and released from her doctor’s care and released from FMLA. HER Story is forthcoming and what a revealing story it will be.
John Lewis’ attempts to garner fame on the back of Bacarra Mauldin will be short lived. She opened MATA’s books and not TransPro. Their focus should be on performing the requirements of their 1.2 Million contract and not withholding the legal earnings of a sick and disabled employee while out on approved Family Medical Leave while recovering from a very difficult surgery, with no due process, spewing allegations filled with slander and libel to shock the conscience of an unassuming community that’s often distracted from the facts by sensationalized news. Like many others, they will come, get paid, and go, leaving public transit no better, while the victim who was actually making real progress has her character assassinated in the news.
While some of the choices made may be unpopular, none are illegal nor a knowing and willful violation of MATA policy. She was not afforded any grace, nor time to grow into the role, as any new job would require, she has been left to the wolves. But her day for Justice will come.
If you need anything further, I will be happy to address your concerns, after my client is well and recovered from her illness. I ask that the media respect the directions of her medical team, and allow her the appropriate time to heal. Please find attached her Approved FMLA documentation for your records. She was and has been on leave since these unfortunate inflammatory allegations were first levied.
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