An employee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City pleaded guilty to conspiring with other people to thwart competitive bidding on MTA’s excess vehicle auctions.
Timour Abramov pleaded guilty Jan. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. Abramov faces “a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine,” a Feb. 2 news release said.
“New Yorkers rely on the MTA and this criminal scheme boils down to stealing from the public,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, said in the release. “We will continue to detect and punish those that abuse the public trust.”
Abramov sought to ensure a company he and another person controlled submitted the winning bids on auctions MTA conducted to sell excess products and materials the authority didn’t need, the release reported. Abramov was provided confidential pricing information, a violation of MTA rules.
“Abusing access to confidential MTA information to interfere with a fair and competitive process undermines the public trust in that process and unfairly reflects on tens of thousands of honest, hardworking MTA employees,” Acting MTA Inspector General Elizabeth Keating said in the release. “Our office is grateful for the diligence and commitment from our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice, who work to ensure that individuals attempting to defraud the MTA are held fully responsible for their actions.”
Trust is broken when people conduct themselves unfairly, Special Agent-in-Charge James Dennehy, of the FBI Newark division, said in the release.
“The public loses faith in governmental systems when members of an agency don't adhere to policies and procedures created to promote transparency and fairness,” Dennehy said, according to the release. “This investigation demonstrates our commitment to holding accountable those who abuse their positions for their own financial gain.”
