Metro police have arrested six people in connection with a “sophisticated” farecard scam that officials said has cost the transit agency at least $16,000 and likely much more.
“They created counterfeit farecards that were detectable to people who looked at the cards but were not detectable to our equipment,” General Manager John Catoe said.
The accused thieves, who were arrested Wednesday and Thursday, inserted the bogus cards into farecard machines and traded them in for legitimate ones, which they then sold on the street or at Metro stations for half price, Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn said.
Metro officials discovered the scam this week after employees in the agency’s treasury department noticed a discrepancy in farecard sales, Catoe said.
Police have recovered 300 counterfeit farecards this week, but believe the scheme started earlier this year.
Officials said they are looking for other people involved and for the scam’s mastermind.
“We think there is a Mr. Big, and that’s who we’d like to find,” Catoesaid.
Metro has lowered the maximum amount that riders can trade in on paper farecards from $40 to $7 to reduce the agency’s vulnerability to the scam, officials said.
Metro also is freezing all SmarTrip cards that investigators believe to be connected to the scheme.
“Let me assure you we can tell which cards were purchased from the agency and which ones had money transferred from counterfeit farecards,” Catoe said.
Metro riders who bought farecards or SmarTrip cards from the transit agency or from authorized distributors have nothing to worry about, officials said.
Police arrested Marc Daniels, 37, of District Heights, Edvin Ramirez, 23, and Edgar Antonio Lemus-Sanchez, 23, of Northwest Washington, and Maria Escobar, 32, and Cosme Ochoa, 35, of Falls Church after Metro cameras caught them selling the cards, Taborn said.
The arrests were made at the Judiciary Square, Union Station, Pentagon and Eastern Market stations.
All six have been charged with felony theft.
