A former employee at Keolis, which operates the MBTA Commuter Rail, has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges tied to a scheme to steal money and materials from the transit agency, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
John Pigsley, 59, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, tax evasion, filing a false tax return and structuring financial transactions to evade reporting.
Pigsley was the assistant chief engineer of facilities at Keolis from 2014 through November 2021.
Prosecutors allege that he and a co-conspirator, 69-year-old John Rafferty, who worked at an electric company that supplied Keolis, operated a false invoicing scheme. It involved Rafferty, through his company LJ Electric, buying construction-related equipment for a company under Pigsley's name -- Pigman Group -- then invoicing Keolis for those costs. The purchases spanned over multiple years -- from July 2014 through November 2021.
Rafferty spent at least $3 million in items for Pigsley and others -- including trucks, at least seven Bobcast machines, at least $1 million in home building supplies and services, and a $54,000 camper. Keolis paid out more than $4 million to Rafferty based on those fake invoices.
Pigsley is also accused of directing Keolis to buy copper wire, which he then stole and sold to scrap metal businesses. According to prosecutors, Pigsley would pick up the wire orders from vendors, or have deliveries made directly to his home in Beverly, then take them to the scrap yards. He made ore than $4.5 million through this scheme.
Finally, Pigsley is accused of defrauding the IRS by failing to pay proper income taxes don't he money he made through these schemes, and making deposits specifically designed to evade proper tax reporting requirements.
Pigsley is scheduled for sentencing on April 17, 2025. He could face decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for the charges against him.
Rafferty previously pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge and is scheduled for sentencing on April 10, 2025.