Former California train workers are accused of building their own secret apartments with public funds INSIDE two train stations costing up to $50K

A former employee of Caltrain, a mass transit system that connects Silicon Valley to San Francisco, and a former contractor allegedly raided public funds to build themselves two small apartments inside two train stations.

San Mateo County prosecutors charged Joseph Vincent Navarro, a former deputy director for Caltrain, and Seth Andrew Worden, a former employee of TransAmerica Services Inc., with a felony charge of misusing public funds.

Worden, 61, was arraigned Wednesday and released on his own recognizance, court records showed. 

Navarro, 66, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday, when Worden is set to make another court appearance, according to The Mercury News.

Prosecutors said that between 2019 and 2020 Navarro allegedly conspired with Worden and approved $42,000 in building expenses to transform an office into a clandestine apartment inside Caltrain's Burlingame train station, which is designated as a historic landmark in California.

Pictured: Caltrain's Burlingame train station, where Navarro allegedly built an apartment out of an office using roughly $42,000

Pictured: Millbrae station, where Worden allegedly spent $8,000 for his own private pad

The criminal complaint alleged that Worden used $8,000 in taxpayer funds to build himself a similar pad inside the Millbrae train station.

It's unclear what Worden's alleged living quarters looked like, but Navarro is accused of spending big for a kitchen, shower, plumbing and security cameras in his apartment.

Navarro and Worden allegedly ensured that no invoice surpassed $3,000, averting further authorization from Caltrain and TransAmerica Services Inc., the firm that employed Worden, prosecutors said.

By keeping their expenses under the $3,000 threshold, Navarro and Worden were able to evade scrutiny.

Caltrain employees reportedly first discovered the converted space at the Millbrae station in 2020. 

Navarro's alleged place in Burlingame, however, evaded detection until Caltrain received an anonymous tip in 2022.

Navarro was fired after being confronted with the tip, and reportedly admitted to 'occasionally using the station as his residence,' prosecutors said. Caltrain then alerted the district attorney's office about the potential for criminal charges.

Caltrain's Executive Director, Michelle Bouchard, blasted her former employee and contractor in a statement.

'The misuse of public funds for private use is a violation of the law, Caltrain policy and the public's trust,' Bouchard said.

She continued: 'Caltrain investigates every claim of such misconduct, and in cases where there is evidence of unlawful conduct by an employee or a contractor, we immediately act to rectify the situation and hold the individuals who are responsible accountable.'