Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) OIG

Florida residents Jean Barbier and Bryan DeCastro were sentenced on April 5, 2023, in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. DeCastro was sentenced to 11 months in prison, 3 years’ probation, and was ordered to pay $155,929 in restitution to Amtrak...

Colby Frazier, a resident of Long Beach, California, was sentenced to 30-months in prison on charges of Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2023, for his participation in a "phishing" scheme in which he fraudulently obtained...

Keith Kovaleski, a former Amtrak Assistant Foreman, based in New York, was sentenced to 10 months’ home confinement in U.S District Court, District of New Jersey, on July 12, 2023, for marketing and distributing over $3 million worth of misbranded and unapproved new drugs. On July 11, 2023, his...

Our objective was to identify any challenges with company systems and processes that could impede the Capital Delivery department’s ability to effectively track and manage costs for capital projects.Amtrak’s Capital Delivery department is strengthening its ability to track and manage costs. For...

An Amtrak Coach Cleaner based in Beech Grove, Indiana, was terminated from employment on June 15, 2023, following her administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the employee violated company policies by failing to report her arrests and convictions for operating a vehicle while intoxicated...

An Amtrak Assistant Passenger Conductor based in Denver, Colorado, was terminated from employment on May 25, 2023, following his administrative hearing. The Denver Police Department requested our assistance in identifying an individual who was suspected of shoplifting items valued at $244 from a...

The owner of a company contracted to do work for Amtrak signed a pre-trial diversion agreement on May 8, 2023, in Marion County Superior Court, Indiana. Our investigation found that the contractor stole two train horns from the Beech Grove Maintenance Facility and later sold them to individuals he...

An Engineering Supervisor based in New York City violated company policies by working in violation of the 16-hour rule, receiving unnecessary “Time Paid Not Worked,” and receiving pay for more than 24 hours in a day. Specifically, we found 41 occasions when the supervisor claimed compensatory time...

An Assistant Supervisory Plumber based in New York, New York, violated Amtrak policy by engaging in outside employment at two construction companies while on Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and receiving Railroad Retirement Board benefits. The employee resigned in lieu of his disciplinary hearing...