Inspector sentenced to 30 months and ordered to pay $64 million for fake gas weld tests

Michael Vasconcellos was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $64 million in restitution for fabricating safety tests on natural gas pipelines. The 45-year-old resident of Mahopac, New York, pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald announced the sentencing for the Southern District of New York.

Vasconcellos worked as a contracted safety inspector for Con Edison from 2016 to 2023. He and a co-conspirator, Liam Treibert, were hired to inspect welds on gas lines being installed in Westchester County and New York City. These inspections were required to detect defects that could cause leaks or explosions before the lines went into service.

Prosecutors stated that the pair used a method known as radaring to deceive the utility. This practice involves radiographing a single weld twice and submitting one set of x-ray films as if it came from a different, untested weld. Vasconcellos and Treibert created fraudulent records to cover up the fact that they had not reviewed hundreds of the welds they claimed to have inspected.

Con Edison paid for the inspections and believed its pipelines had passed critical safety checks. The utility later discovered the fraud and spent over $64 million to remediate the affected lines. McDonald said the scheme put New Yorkers at risk by leaving them dependent on safety checks that never took place.

"Michael Vasconcellos fabricated gas pipeline test results designed to prevent gas leaks and explosions, putting the lives of New Yorkers at risk," McDonald said. "Today, the defendant faces the consequences of this fraud, having been sentenced to 30 months in prison. Instead of doing his job, the defendant left New Yorkers relying on critical safety checks that never happened, and cost a utility company more than $64 million in remediation."

The federal indictment identified hundreds of welds across pipelines in the Bronx and Westchester County as affected by the radaring scheme. The non-destructive testing process typically requires a team to x-ray each weld and examine the films for flaws. If a defect is found, the weld must be repaired before the pipeline is activated.

In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Vasconcellos to serve three years of supervised release. The case was handled by the White Plains Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office.