Medford Man Gets 3 Years In Prison For Fake MBTA Pass Scam

WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — A Medford man who distributed more than 3,000 counterfeit MBTA passes and deprived the transit agency of $225,000 in revenue has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Casey Kolenda was also sentenced to three years of probation in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday after pleading guilty to multiple counts of counterfeiting.

Prosecutor say the scheme netted him more than $60,000 in personal profits.

The investigation began in August 2013, after Transit Police discovered the existence of hundreds of unauthorized tickets in use by riders on the T's subway and bus systems.

Authorities say electronic data stored on a legitimate pass magnetic stripe was copied using a magnetic stripe reader, also known as a "skimmer." That data was then downloaded onto the magnetic stripes of hundreds of MBTA stored-value cards.