One of seven defendants in a MARTA card fraud network dubbed “The Underground Railroad,” has pleaded guilty for his role.
Michael Dallas agreed to serve two years in prison of a 10 year sentence with credit for the time he’s already served. Restitution will be determined later, and Dallas is prohibited from being on MARTA property during his sentence.
None of the other six defendants entered pleas Friday in DeKalb County Superior Court.
In the alleged elaborate scheme, which authorities say took place in 2013, the defendants hacked into MARTA computers and were able to buy $1 Breeze fare cards and then fraudulently load them with much higher value. They then sold the cards at a discount to riders, pocketing the difference and effectively bilking MARTA of revenue it otherwise would have received.
Dallas was described in court Friday as being at the low end of the sophisticated operation, a sometimes homeless individual who sold newspapers at MARTA stations and who agreed to sell the loaded cards to riders.
The other six defendants, who have been charged with theft, fraud and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) are: Pierre Metteaux, Jedadia Byrd, Melvin Summers Jr., Christine Carney, Stephanie Finger, and Brenda Small. Dallas pleaded guilty to violating RICO.
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