Former Philly 311 Coworkers Charged With Counterfeiting SEPTA TransPasses
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Federal authorities have charged two people with forging and selling SEPTA TransPasses, mostly to city employees.
A federal indictment says a former Philly 311 employee and a co-worker schemed to make and sell more than 2,000 counterfeit monthly SEPTA TransPasses.
Thirty-five-year-old Mark Cooper allegedly would buy a legitimate pass, which sells for $91. He would then copy the magnetic stripe onto cards using equipment bought on the internet. 35-year-old 311 worker Kimberly Adams would then sell the fake passes for $50 around City Hall, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Marston.
"The indictment alleges that they began this counterfeiting scheme," Marston said, "and that they started by reaching out just to the customers within Philly 311."
The scheme allegedly ran between August of 2013 to June of this year.
City Inspector General Amy Kurland is looking into whether other 311 employees were involved.
"We're not going to let city employees siphon money away from one of the region's public agencies, especially not in City Hall of all places," said Kurland. "Our administrative investigation into other employees who were involved in this conspiracy is ongoing."
If convicted of all charges, the defendants each face a statutory maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.
