Michael Vasconcellos

Introduction

Michael Vasconcellos is a 45-year-old resident of Mahopac, New York, who performed safety inspections on natural gas pipeline projects in the New York City area. On 28 October 2026, U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald of the Southern District of New York announced that Vasconcellos was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to fabricate hundreds of gas pipeline safety test results provided to a regulated utility company, referred to in court papers as Utility-1. According to the release, Vasconcellos pleaded guilty on April 21, 2026, to a superseding Information charging him with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who also presided over the sentencing.

Background Information

According to court filings, between at least in or about 2016 and 2023, Vasconcellos and his co-conspirator, Liam Treibert, were supposed to perform safety inspections of welds on natural gas pipelines being installed throughout New York City and Westchester County, to ensure welds contained no defects that could cause gas leaks or explosions. Utility-1 or its contractors typically placed pipelines in the ground in segments and welded them together; before a pipeline could enter service, its welds had to pass non-destructive testing. One common form involved radiographs, or x-rays: a team radiographed each weld and examined the films for defects that had to be repaired before service.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced. Vasconcellos admitted conspiring to fabricate hundreds of gas pipeline safety test results provided to a regulated utility, and on 28 October 2026 he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $64 million in restitution.

According to the release, Vasconcellos and Treibert lied about having inspected hundreds of welds that they never actually reviewed and created fraudulent records to cover up what they had done. As a result, Utility-1 paid for hundreds of sham inspections and was deceived into thinking its pipelines had passed critical safety tests that the two men never performed — checks that existed to catch weld defects whose failure to repair could have led to critical failures, including gas leaks or explosions.

During the period alleged, while performing radiographic testing for Utility-1, the pair repeatedly engaged in a practice referred to in the non-destructive testing industry as “radaring.” Radaring typically involved radiographing the same weld twice and then passing off one copy of films as having come from a second weld: a radiographer might radiograph Weld A twice and then claim that the second set of films is of Weld B, even though the radiographer never inspected Weld B.

In total, according to court filings, hundreds of welds across Utility-1’s pipelines installed throughout the Bronx and Westchester County between in or about 2016 and 2023 were affected by the radaring engaged in by Vasconcellos and Treibert. To date, Utility-1 has spent more than $64 million remediating the effects of the fraud.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The documented response came from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. “Michael Vasconcellos fabricated gas pipeline test results designed to prevent gas leaks and explosions, putting the lives of New Yorkers at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “Today, the defendant faces the consequences of this fraud, having been sentenced to 30 months in prison.” McDonald added: “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.” Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative work of the Offices of the New York State Inspector General, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the special agents with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Current Status

Vasconcellos, 45, of Mahopac, New York, was sentenced on 28 October 2026 to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $64 million in restitution. The sentence followed his April 21, 2026 guilty plea to the superseding Information charging one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, entered before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who also presided over the sentencing. To date, Utility-1 has spent more than $64 million remediating the effects of the fraud. The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Markewitz and Jay McMahon in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist Samantha Olsen.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Vasconcellos’s work as a pipeline safety inspector — the role in which he and Treibert were supposed to radiograph and review welds on gas pipelines across New York City and Westchester County — is now defined by a federal felony conviction for wire-fraud conspiracy rather than by any inspection record he produced. The records he created, prosecutors say, were fraudulent, and their aftermath is measurable: hundreds of welds had to be addressed, and Utility-1’s remediation costs have surpassed $64 million, with the restitution order formally requiring him to pay over that amount. The case also stands as a warning within the non-destructive testing industry that “radaring” shortcuts on safety-critical welds carry prison time, not just civil exposure.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, “New York Safety Inspector Sentenced For Fabricating Gas Pipeline Test Results Designed To Prevent Gas Leaks And Explosions” — source