A Long Island man who pleaded guilty to an $800,000 MetroCard scam was sentenced today to a year in jail for selling free rides on the subway and the Long Island Railroad.
Carey Grant, 42, was busted two years ago along with his wife and a friend, after they discovered a glitch in a Penn Station MetroCard machine that allowed them to buy fare cards for free.
Prosecutors said Grant’s wife, Lisa Foster Jordan first discovered the gift machine in 2005, and then conspired with her husband and a friend, Christopher Clemente, to sell tickets to friends and family.
Soon, the trio were placing orders for thousands of free tickets which they sold at discounted prices, officials said.
The ruse was discovered during a routine audit after which authorities were able to link the free tickets to two individual bank cards.
MTA cops later monitored the stations’ ticket vending machines.
Grant, who was charged with grand larceny, a felony, could have faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Jordan and Clemente made similar plea deals, and have not been sentenced yet.