3 Plead Guilty In Fake MBTA Pass Scheme

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Three people have pleaded guilty to a scam to sell thousands of illegal MBTA passes.

The Massachusetts attorney general says it was the biggest fare evasion scheme in the agency's history.

Prosecutors said 28-year-old Andres Townes made than 20,000 passes worth about $4 million, while working at a company that made official passes. Two women helped him sell them online. Authorities said about half were never circulated before the scheme was discovered last year.

Townes pleaded guilty Thursday in Essex Superior Court to charges including larceny and conspiracy. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Twenty-eight-year-old Gloria Escobar pleaded guilty to larceny and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to two years in jail. Forty-two-year-old Joceline Townes pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and conspiracy and was sentenced to three months.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.