You can do this garbage and still be legal. It's good to hear that Boiler hasn't had to witness a lot of this BS, though - perhaps it's a regional (not regional in the airline sense) thing. Around here it started in earnest when everything went to hell in 2008. Autopilot-in-leu op spec for a King Air, Pilatus, or single pilot Citation, throw a dude in a pilot uniform in the right seat, list him/her on the manifest as a passenger - and off you go with the pax none the wiser.

It's friggin' unethical garbage, but it's amazing how shady 135 can be. Some of the feds around here don't even care if the monkey in the right seat works the radio, saying that the PTT isn't technically a 'flight control'. The good news is that at least around here, many of the operators still pay a day rate for the guy in the right seat - they're just trying to get around having to pay for the training.