Two men have been arrested on felony charges for a double-dipping scheme in which they collected pay from both Metro and Amtrak, both over a period of several years, according to Metro’s inspector general and charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court.
The inspector general said a joint investigation by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Amtrak’s internal watchdogs led to the arrests. Tsaba was arrested Thursday while Lontchi was taken into custody Tuesday, according to authorities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia brought the charges against the men.
According to charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court, Tsaba collected wages concurrently from Amtrak and Metro in a scheme that stretched four years — from around Jan. 14, 2014 to June 25 of this year. Tsaba, authorities said, was a locomotive inspector and electrician for Amtrak who worked at the railroad’s Ivy City rail yard, and a Metro electrician at the authority’s Brentwood rail yard. He began at Metro in 2006 and Amtrak in 2007, documents say.
The investigation, authorities said, logged dozens of instances where Tsaba was “clocked in and receiving pay from Amtrak at the same time that he was punched in and receiving pay from WMATA.”
“On numerous occasions, Tsaba left the Amtrak Yards prior to the end of his shift and without swiping out went to work at the WMATA Yards,” the documents say. “Conversely, on numerous occasions, Tsaba left the WMATA Yards without punching out and went to work at the Amtrak yards.”
In all, officials said, Tsaba departed the Amtrak rail yards without swiping out 74 times over the four-year span, and the Metro yards without punching out 24 times. The documents suggested Tsaba managed the scheme because he worked either the first (morning) or third (overnight) shift for Amtrak, while working the second shift — in the afternoon — for Metro. But the shifts sometimes aligned too closely, with a 2 p.m. clock-out time at Amtrak lining up with the start of his shift at Metro, for example, or Metro’s 10:30 p.m. punch-out coming just 30 minutes before the 11 p.m. clock-in time for Amtrak’s third shift.
“Tsaba stated that he left the Amtrak yards prior to his departure time so that he would not be late in punching in for his shift at the WMATA Yards,” the documents say. “He would then briefly leave WMATA and return to the Amtrak Yards to swipe out. Tsaba also stated that he left the WMATA yards prior to his departure time so that he would not be late swiping in for his shift at the Amtrak Yards.”
So how did he manage his job responsibilities over that time, according to authorities?
“In several of those instances, Tsaba stated his WMATA Yards work assignments, such as fire safety watchman, did not require his physical presence.”
Metro did not comment on Tsaba’s proclamation regarding his job responsibilities in the documents, but Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld issued a brief statement:
"We commend the OIG and his work with Amtrak to ensure that all of our employees comply with the law,” he said.
Authorities said the losses to Metro and Amtrak combined totaled about $7,500.
Tsaba could not immediately be located for comment at a phone number provided in charging documents Tuesday. Amtrak said Tsaba was no longer an employee and that it was checking on the status of Lontchi.
Charging documents for Lontchi, who made an initial court appearance Tuesday, said he was working for Metro and Amtrak at Brentwood and Ivy City rail yards between 2014 and 2018 — though his offenses excluded 2015, according to authorities. The documents said Lontchi, a locomotive inspector for Amtrak and an electrician for Metro, was assigned to the morning shift for the passenger railroad and the afternoon shift for the transit agency. But he was receiving pay from both, authorities say.
“From 2014 - 2018, there were 122 instances in which Lontchi was punched in at WMATA for his 2:00pm, but did not swipe out at Amtrak until his 3:00pm departure time,” the documents said, and proceed to list the specific instances by year.
Authorities concluded Lontchi’s actions cost Amtrak $5,198.48.
“Lontchi admitted that he was paid by Amtrak and WMATA for one hour that he did not work regularly,” the documents said.
Lontchi could not be reached at a phone number listed in charging documents.
Officials said both Lontchi and Tsaba had initial court hearings set for Jan. 7.
In a news release, Metro Inspector General Geoffrey Cherrington “expressed thanks” to the offices involved, which included both inspectors general, investigative staff and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Spencer S. Hsu and Peter Hermann contributed to this report.