In San Mateo, California, a runaway train of embezzlement and theft found its way back into the station.
Former Caltrain employees Seth Andrew Worden and Joseph Vincent Navarro were sentenced to 60 days and 120 days in county jail, respectively, for embezzlement of public funds.
Navarro, previously Caltrain deputy director, used $42,000 of public funds to build an apartment for himself at Burlingame Station into a secret apartment. He directed Worden to hire contractors to remodel office space and keep the invoices under $3,000 to avoid detection, as going over that amount would require higher approval.
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Worden, a Caltrain station manager, used the same methods to embezzle $8,000 — remodeling a part of Millbrae station in 2019. He was caught just a year later in 2020 and fired when station employees found the living space.
Navarro maintained his secret apartment — with its brand new kitchen, shower, heating, plumbing and security cameras — up until 2022. Caltrain received an anonymous tip exposing his living situation.
Together, they embezzled over $40,000 of public funds.
"When it’s public money that is being stolen by a public employee, that’s egregious. That takes it up a level," San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told ABC7 News.
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Worden was also sentenced to pay $8,000 in restitution and to receive substance abuse treatment and counseling — while Navarro has been ordered to surrender to surrender to authorities for his jail sentence on Aug. 2. A restitution hearing in his case has been scheduled for Aug. 15 according to CBS News.
The case also reflects the extreme cost pressures facing Bay Area residents. With median home prices hovering near $1.25 million according to Re/MAX and rents among the highest in the nation, housing insecurity can push individuals toward unconventional — and sometimes unlawful — solutions. While the Caltrain scheme was deliberate fraud, as framed by the prosecution, it also highlights how a lack of affordable housing and oversight can create openings for opportunistic behavior in public systems.
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