Investigations

USAO, Eastern District of New York - Press Release

On October 28, 2014, Asif Ali and Jeffrey Evagues, were charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York, with theft of public funds. Both are Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers (ATC) assigned to the ATC tower at JFK International Airport, Queens, New York. They were subsequently arrested by U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General Special Agents on November 6, 2014.

The complaint alleged that in more than 300 instances between September 2011 and October 2014, Ali and Evagues gained unauthorized access to the FAA’s computerized time & attendance system, known as “Cru-X”. Ali and Evagues manipulated the system to appear as if they were working overtime, when, in fact, they were not, thus resulting in their receipt of payroll and benefits payments to which they were not entitled.

The estimated payroll overpayments to Ali and Evagues are $83,000 and $87,000, respectively.

Note: Indictments, information's, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.