A former general manager of a Massachusetts-based electrical company has been sentenced in federal court for defrauding Keolis Commuter Services through a false invoicing scheme. John Rafferty, 72, from Hale’s Location, New Hampshire, received a sentence of one year and one day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. He is also required to pay restitution amounting to $4,016,087 and a forfeiture money judgment of $893,227.93.
In June 2023, Rafferty admitted guilt to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His co-conspirator, John P. Pigsley, was charged separately.
Keolis has managed the MBTA commuter rail system since 2014 under an annual contract valued between $291 million and $349 million. Rafferty served as the general manager of LJ Electric, Inc., an electrical supply vendor that received over $17 million from Keolis between 2014 and 2021.
The fraudulent activities took place from July 2014 to November 2021. Rafferty and Pigsley defrauded Keolis of more than $4 million through fake invoices from LJ Electric. Rafferty used over $3 million on various items for Pigsley and others including trucks, construction equipment like Bobcat machines, home building supplies worth at least $1 million, and a camper costing $54,000. The expenses were recouped by submitting false invoices to Keolis with additional profit margins retained by Rafferty.
In April 2025, Pigsley was sentenced to 70 months in prison with three years of supervised release. He must pay restitution totaling $8,580,311 to Keolis and $2,689,206 to the IRS along with forfeiting three real properties and paying a money judgment of $7,687,083.70.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka from the FBI Boston Division; Thomas Demeo from the IRS Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office; and Christopher A. Scharf from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristina E. Barclay and Raquelle Kaye are handling the prosecution.
