Ex-Keolis engineer admits to $8M theft from MBTA Commuter Rail
By Veronica Haynes
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BOSTON (WCVB) — A former Keolis engineer has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $8 million from the agency.
The U.S. Attorney said John Pigsley, an assistant chief engineer, admitted to committing wire fraud and tax evasion. The stolen funds were meant to help operate the MBTA Commuter Rail.
He will be sentenced in April.
Pigsley and a second man, John Rafferty, the former general manager of Massachusetts-based LJ Electric, were indicted in April 2023. At that time, Rafferty agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the case.
Pigsley and Rafferty are accused of working together on schemes between July 2014 and November 2021. That included the theft of more than $4 million by using false invoices to charge Keolis for vehicles, equipment and money that Rafferty kept for himself.
Pigsley allegedly sold the wire at scrap yards for thousands of dollars in cash, totaling more than $4.5 million over time, according to the 2023 federal indictment.
The former Keolis engineer is also accused in the indictment of failing to pay federal income taxes on money he obtained through the two schemes and of depositing nearly $2 million in bank accounts while structuring the transactions to evade reporting requirements.
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