BOSTON (WHDH) - One current MBTA employee and six former MBTA employees were charged Friday in a revised indictment for multiple conspiracies including conspiring to falsify Red Line track inspection reports and committing overtime fraud, the United States Attorney’s Office announced.
Brian Pfaffinger, 48, of Marshfield, Ronald Gamble, 63, of Dorchester, Magda Trinh, 45, of Avon, Jensen Vatel, 43, of Brockton, Nathalie Mendes, 54, of New Bedford, Danny Barbosa, 37, of Dorchester, and Matthew Leonard, 37, of Easton, were indicted, the office said in a statement.
Pfaffinger, Gamble, Vatel and Mendes were previously indicted on May 22, 2025 and arrested on May 29, 2025. Trinh, Barbosa and Leonard were arrested and appeared in federal court in Boston Friday.
According to the charging documents, the seven defendants were all Red Line Maintenance of Way employees. Pfaffinger served as the team’s supervisor and Gamble, Trinh, Vatel and Mendes were former track inspectors.
From January 1, 2024 to October 16, 2024, it is alleged that Pfaffinger, Gamble, Trinh, Vatel and Mendes either falsified track inspection reports or aided and abetted the submission of falsified inspection reports. To avoid scrutiny from other MBTA officials, the United States Attorney’s Office said Gamble and Trinh instructed Vatel, Mendes and other Red Line track inspectors to falsely extend the duration of their track inspections on the reports.
Vatel and Mendes are also accused of falsifying the train numbers on their inspection reports by inserting train numbers they found online, rather than completing train rides as required.
During times when some of the inspections were reported as having been conducted, the United States Attorney’s Office said Gamble, Trinh, Vatel and Mendes were present inside Cabot Yard – a MBTA location that contained a breakroom for Red Line inspection employees. Cabot Yard also contained a large garage where Gamble, Vatel, Barbosa and Leonard allegedly worked on private vehicles during work hours.
The United States Attorney’s Office accuses Pfaffinger of knowing that his employees worked on private vehicles during work hours, as well as having his subordinates perform work on his own personal vehicle.
Gamble is also accused of frequently creating overtime sheets, which he submitted to payroll, claiming that he Trinh, Mendes, Vatel, Barbosa and Leonard worked overtime shifts that they did not.
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