BOSTON, Mass.- Seven former and current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employees have been charged in a federal case alleging they falsified Red Line track inspection reports and fraudulently collected overtime pay after prosecutors added three additional defendants in a superseding indictment.
The superseding indictment, announced Friday, July 10, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, expands a case first brought in May 2025. Four former MBTA employees were previously indicted, while three additional defendants were arrested Friday and made their initial appearances in federal court in Boston.
Those charged are 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.
According to court documents, all of the defendants were former Red Line Maintenance of Way employees. Pfaffinger served as the team’s supervisor, while Gamble, Trinh, Vatel and Mendes worked as track inspectors responsible for inspecting Red Line tracks and documenting their work using the MBTA’s MaxTrax mobile application.
Federal prosecutors allege that between Jan. 1, 2024, and Oct. 16, 2024, Pfaffinger, Gamble, Trinh, Vatel and Mendes either falsified track inspection reports or helped submit false reports instead of completing required inspections. Gamble and Trinh allegedly instructed other inspectors, including Vatel and Mendes, to extend the reported duration of inspections to avoid scrutiny from senior MBTA officials. Prosecutors also allege that some inspectors entered train numbers obtained online rather than completing required train rides during inspections.
The indictment further alleges that, during times when inspections were reported as taking place, Gamble, Trinh, Vatel and Mendes were often inside Cabot Yard, where a break room was available for Red Line inspection employees. Gamble, Vatel, Barbosa and Leonard are also accused of working on private vehicles inside a garage at the facility during work hours.
According to prosecutors, Pfaffinger knew his subordinates were performing work on private vehicles while on duty and also had them repair his own personal vehicle. In one July 2024 incident cited in the indictment, Pfaffinger allegedly reported serious defects on multiple Red Line tracks and, 10 days later, requested that subordinates spend part of their workday repairing his vehicle.
The superseding indictment also alleges that between Jan. 1, 2024, and Oct. 16, 2024, Gamble routinely submitted overtime sheets claiming that he, Trinh, Mendes, Vatel, Barbosa and Leonard had worked overtime shifts that they either did not work, arrived late for or left for extended periods after checking in.
Prosecutors allege Gamble submitted overtime requests for Leonard, Barbosa and others despite knowing they had not completed their shifts, allegedly to compensate them for work performed on private vehicles during regular MBTA work hours. Trinh is also accused of helping submit at least one false overtime record claiming Vatel had worked a shift he did not complete. According to the indictment, Gamble copied Pfaffinger on the overtime submissions, and Pfaffinger approved the time sheets as supervisor.
Pfaffinger, Gamble, Vatel and Mendes were previously indicted on May 22, 2025, and arrested on May 29, 2025. Trinh, Barbosa and Leonard were arrested on July 10, 2026, and appeared in federal court in Boston the same day.
The defendants face various charges, including conspiracy to falsify records, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, falsification of records, false statements and aiding and abetting, depending on their alleged roles.
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