BOSTON — On Friday, July 10, 2026, one current and six former Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employees were charged in a superseding federal indictment for allegedly conspiring to falsify Red Line track inspection reports and fraudulently collect overtime payments.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the defendants are:
- Brian Pfaffinger, 48, of Marshfield, was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to falsify records
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Falsification of records, aiding and abetting
- False statements, aiding and abetting
- Ronald Gamble, 63, of Dorchester, who was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to falsify records
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Wire fraud, aiding and abetting
- Falsification of records, aiding and abetting
- False statements, aiding and abetting
- Magda Trinh, 45, of Avon, was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to falsify records
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Wire fraud, aiding and abetting
- Jensen Vatel, 43, of Brockton, who was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to falsify records
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Wire fraud, aiding and abetting
- Falsification of records, aiding and abetting
- False statements, aiding and abetting
- Nathalie Mendes, 54, of New Bedford, was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to falsify records
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Wire fraud, aiding and abetting
- Falsification of records, aiding and abetting
- False statements, aiding and abetting
- Wire fraud
- Danny Barbosa, 37, of Dorchester, was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Wire fraud, aiding and abetting
- Matthew Leonard, 37, of Easton, was indicted on the following charges:
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Wire fraud, aiding and abetting
Pfaffinger, Gamble, Vatel, and Mendes were previously indicted on May 22, 2025, and arrested on May 29, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported. Trinh, Barbosa, and Leonard were arrested Friday morning and appeared in federal court in Boston later that day.
According to the charging documents, the defendants all worked for the MBTA’s Red Line Maintenance of Way. Pfaffinger served as the team’s supervisor, while Gamble, Trinh, Vatel, and Mendes worked as track inspectors responsible for inspecting Red Line tracks. The track inspectors used MBTA-issued cellphones with an application called MaxTrax to document whether inspections were completed and record information about each inspection. The application then generated a report containing details about the inspection.
Federal prosecutors allege that, between Jan. 1, 2024, and Oct. 16, 2024, Pfaffinger, Gamble, Trinh, Vatel, and Mendes falsified inspection reports or assisted with the submission of falsified reports rather than completing required inspections.
Gamble and Trinh allegedly instructed Vatel, Mendes, and other inspectors to falsely extend the reported duration of their inspections to prevent senior MBTA officials from discovering how little work was being performed.
Some inspectors, including Vatel and Mendes, allegedly entered train numbers they found online into inspection reports instead of riding the trains as required to complete the inspections.
Prosecutors further allege that Gamble, Trinh, Vatel, and Mendes were inside Cabot Yard (a coffee and breakroom for Red Line inspection employees) during periods when their reports indicated that they were conducting inspections.
In addition to the coffee and breakroom, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said MBTA’s Cabot Yard also contains a large garage where Gamble, Vatel, Barbosa, and Leonard allegedly repaired private vehicles during work hours.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Pfaffinger knew that his subordinates were working on private vehicles during work hours and had them work on his personal vehicle as well.
In July 2024, Pfaffinger allegedly informed his subordinates that several tracks assigned for inspection, which were supposedly being inspected by his subordinates, had serious defects. Ten days later, prosecutors allege, Pfaffinger asked his subordinates to spend part of their workday repairing his private vehicle.
The indictment also alleges that, from Jan. 1, 2024 to Oct. 16, 2024, Gamble frequently prepared and submitted overtime sheets falsely claiming that he, Trinh, Mendes, Vatel, Barbosa, and Leonard had worked overtime shifts they did not complete. Rather than show up for their overtime shifts, Gamble, Trinh, Mendes, Vatel, Barbosa, and Leonard allegedly failed to appear for some shifts, arrived hours late, or they arrived at the beginning of the shift, scanned into work using the hand scanner, and then left for several hours. Some allegedly slept in their vehicles before returning to work.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported that Gamble allegedly submitted overtime sheets for Leonard, Barbosa, and others, despite knowing they had not completed their overtime shifts, to compensate them for repairing private vehicles during MBTA working hours.
Trinh is also accused of aiding and abetting with the submission of a falsified timesheet claiming that Vatel worked an overtime shift he did not actually work.
Gamble allegedly copied Pfaffinger on the overtime submissions sent to payroll, and Pfaffinger, as the supervisor, allegedly approved all of his subordinates’ timesheets.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the charges with Elise Chawaga, principal inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, and Anthony D’Esposito, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of the Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
