State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Sept. 19 announced an $18 million settlement with food services provider Compass Group USA Inc. for improperly overcharging more than 39 New York schools and school districts, including four in the Hudson Valley.
Funds from the settlement will be distributed to the impacted schools and districts, which include the Bedford Central School District, the New York School for the Deaf, located in White Plains, the Peekskill City School District, and the Westchester Day and Summer School, located in Mamaroneck.
An investigation by Schneiderman’s office found that from 2003 to 2010, Compass Group, which negotiates contracts, handles food-related procurement, and staffs and supplies culinary facilities for schools through its subsidiary Chartwells, failed to disclose or pass through cost-saving rebates paid to the company by vendors and suppliers to many of its education customers, in violation of state and federal regulations.
The nearly $3 million in overcharges will be returned to the schools and school districts that were affected, while the remaining $15 million will be returned to taxpayers, Schneiderman said in a statement.
