By: Mario Mancini

A shocking investigation has uncovered a massive time-card scam at the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) that allowed dozens of workers to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in unearned pay. The scheme, which investigators say operated between 2021 and 2024, involved employees using fake work IDs to fraudulently swipe themselves — and others — in and out of shifts, even when they weren’t actually working. As the New York Post reported, at least 36 LIRR employees were implicated in what officials called a “widespread culture of fraud and time abuse.”

One of the key figures in the scandal, John Murray, earned an official base salary of $124,361, but somehow managed to pull in over $344,000 in 2024 alone — surpassing even the pay of the LIRR’s president, according to Newsday and the New York Post reports.

Investigators say Murray and others exploited the LIRR’s outdated timekeeping systems, which relied on employee swipe cards for tracking attendance. Fake IDs were used to record false hours, creating the illusion of employees working full shifts while they were nowhere near the job site.

Some of the participants allegedly took things even further, producing and distributing bogus ID cards with machines of their own. According to the New York Post, the fake IDs became a black-market commodity within certain LIRR facilities, where workers charged one another for fraudulent swipe-ins to help them pad their hours and boost their paychecks. The scam not only inflated overtime figures but also undermined public confidence in an agency already criticized for bloated payrolls and inefficiency.

The MTA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) uncovered the pattern after a flood of complaints and red flags appeared in payroll audits beginning in 2022. As the New York Post reported, the OIG’s findings described an entrenched “culture of fraud and time abuse” at several major LIRR hubs — including Richmond Hill, Ronkonkoma, and Manhattan West Side — suggesting the problem went far beyond just a few bad actors.

Of the 36 employees named in the investigation, 24 have admitted to participating in the scheme, while others denied any involvement or claimed ignorance. Murray himself told the New York Post that he had “no idea” such a scam was taking place but admitted hearing “rumors” about employees gaming the system for extra hours. Still, records show that employees tied to the scheme made up half of the LIRR’s top 10 overtime earners in 2023 — a staggering indication of how widespread the fraud became.

LIRR President Robert Free told Newsday that employees proven to have taken part will face “severe punishment.” Several have already been suspended without pay for months, and others have been forced to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars in ill-gotten wages.

While no criminal charges have yet been filed, the case has been referred to three district attorneys’ offices for possible prosecution, according to the New York Post.