Investigations
JFK Air Traffic Controller Pleads Guilty to an Employment Pay Fraud
On July 22, 2015, Jeffrey Evagues, a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controller, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York, to wire fraud related to his role in a complex fraud scheme to alter employee time and attendance records. Previously, in December 2014, a federal grand jury indicted Evagues and Asif Ali, also a former controller, and charged each with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Ali pleaded guilty in June 2015.
Evagues, who worked at the Air Traffic Control tower, Jamaica, New York, admitted that he and Ali gained access to the FAA's Cru-X system and altered labor distribution reports to fraudulently reflect that they had worked certain hours. Consequently, their conduct caused the FAA to pay Ali and Evagues for overtime and nightshift work, Sunday premium pay, and holiday work that they did not perform. Similarly, Evagues admitted that when he took vacations or sick days, he subsequently altered labor distribution reports to make it appear as though he had worked on those days. As a result, he retained unentitled vacation and sick leave credits and was paid for time not worked. As part of the plea agreement, the Court will mandate at sentencing that Evagues pay $235,466.98 in restitution.
Evagues retired shortly after his arrest in November 2014. The FAA indefinitely suspended Ali in April 2015.
We are conducting this investigation with assistance from the FAA.