Investigative Reports

Our investigation determined that between 2022 and 2023, two Amtrak Supervisors based in Philadelphia and several other employees violated company policy by not swiping out on a Time Entry Device (TED) after their shifts and, subsequently, swiping out and immediately back in when they returned to work. This resulted in the recording of significant consecutive TED hours. The employees used this swiping protocol to inaccurately claim a full eight hours of regular pay in Amtrak’s timekeeping system, instead of correctly recording seven hours of regular pay and one hour of Code 29 pay (hours paid but not worked) to which they were actually entitled.

We also found that one of the supervisors collected additional Code 29 hours to which he was not entitled, in violation of the Infrastructure Management and Construction Services’ (IMCS) internal hours‐of‐service policy. We further found that an Engineer, based in Philadelphia, violated the internal hours‐of‐service policy by allowing and encouraging employees to claim Code 29 pay after working only 14 hours, which resulted in the company paying for hundreds of unnecessary Code 29 hours. The supervisors were terminated after their disciplinary hearings in July 2025. They are not eligible for rehire.

We found that a former Research Archeologist at a non-profit organization embezzled over $35,000 of BOR funds for personal expenses.

An Amtrak Passenger Conductor based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on June 24, 2025, in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, to one count of wire fraud involving the fraudulent submission and subsequent receipt of $52,500 for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and one Economic Injury Disaster Loan. The employee’s spouse pleaded guilty on May 20, 2025, to one count of wire fraud involving the fraudulent submission of three PPP loans and the subsequent receipt of $53,845. Our investigation found that the couple provided fraudulent documents and made false representations to obtain the loans totaling $106,345 to which they were not entitled.

AmeriCorps OIG initiated this investigation after receiving a referral from OIG’s Office of Audits. The referral alleged that, in 2019, Delaware’s Governor's Commission on Community & Volunteer Service, an AmeriCorps State and National Program grantee also known as Volunteer Delaware, was not providing adequate oversight of its subrecipient, Delaware’s Division of Parks and Recreation (DPR). AmeriCorps OIG found that Volunteer Delaware did not provide adequate monitoring of DPR and that DPR falsely certified AmeriCorps members’ education awards even though service hours had not been performed, were outside the scope of the grant, were adjusted after service, or were otherwise questionable such as having duplicate entries or excessive hours in a day. The OIG also found that DPR shortened the terms of service for some members who exited the program before completing their original approved terms of service, which allowed those members to collect education awards to which they otherwise would not have been entitled. The case resulted in a disallowance of $111,369.

An assistant passenger conductor based in Kansas City, Missouri, resigned from his position on June 23, 2025, as a result of our investigation. We found that he violated company policies by engaging in a sex act with a passenger while in the performance of his official duties—as the train was in operation. He allegedly extorted the passenger for a sexual favor. During an interview, the former employee admitted to receiving oral sex from the passenger but claimed that it was consensual. He also admitted that he previously engaged in sexual activity with other passengers on three or four other occasions. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

Our investigation determined that a Clerk based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, violated company policies by using her company-issued computer and other company equipment, such as printers and copiers, to conduct personal business by selling items online on company time. We also confirmed that she was selling company property on Poshmark for personal profit. She was terminated on June 20, 2025, and she is not eligible for rehire.

New York based health care providers Muhammad Mirza, a medical doctor, and Punson Figueroa, an acupuncturist, were excluded June 19, 2025, from participating in federal health care programs by the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG). The two providers previously pleaded guilty for their participation in an Amtrak-OIG investigated health care fraud conspiracy in which they conspired with dozens of Amtrak employees to use the employees’ health insurance information to file fraudulent claims. In exchange, the two providers paid cash kickbacks to the employees.

Mirza was sentenced on May 10, 2024, to 26 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1.37 million, and Figueroa was sentenced on September 26, 2024, to 34 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $9.05 million. Both Mirza and Figueroa were excluded from participating in federal health care programs for 25 and 30 years, respectively.

The U.S. AbilityOne Commission (AbilityOne) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an investigation of employee conduct in response to a complaint received.

The GPO OIG Investigations Division investigated GPO-issued cell phones, comparing application data against GPO policy, particularly Section 7, Subsection C, paragraphs 6 and 14 of GPO Directive 825.29E on Internet and Email Policy.

Our investigation determined that a former Lineman Trainee based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, violated company policies by offering company employment under false pretenses in exchange for sexual favors, as well as lying in an OIG interview about his interaction with the complainant. Specifically, the former trainee offered the complainant a job with the company that did not exist and that he did not have the authority to offer, and he lied to our agents about his communications with the complainant. He was terminated on June 13, 2025, and he is not eligible for rehire.

Two Amtrak employees, Kevin Frink, 53, of Willingboro, New Jersey, and Dion Jacob, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on May 22, 2025, and June 11, 2025, respectively, in U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. According to court documents, Frink and Jacob were given cash kickbacks for allowing health care providers to fraudulently bill Amtrak’s health care plan for services that were never provided and that were not medically necessary. The former employees were indicted on June 20, 2024, along with eight other employees.

We found that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supervisor allowed an employee to receive incorrect locality pay and travel reimbursement.

An electrician based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on June 5, 2025, following an administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by failing to report his convictions for theft and improperly using leave granted under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.