Investigative Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that Leslie Lewis, a National Park Service (NPS) Supervisory Fee Management Specialist, embezzled fee deposit funds from Mammoth Cave National Park, KY.We determined that from 2014 through 2018 Lewis embezzled $169,322 from the park’s fee collection program, using several schemes to conceal the thefts. We also found that, at the time of the thefts, the park’s fee collection procedures did not conform to NPS policy governing such programs, but park officials have corrected the deficiencies.The U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky prosecuted Lewis, who pleaded guilty to theft in U.S. District Court. She was sentenced to 24 months of incarceration followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $169,322 in restitution.

The OIG investigated allegations that Oglala Sioux Tribe Member Monica Tyon fraudulently obtained Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) general assistance funds. She reportedly received general assistance while she was employed by the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Tyon did not qualify for assistance because of the income from her tribal employment.We found that Tyon fraudulently received $4,775. Tyon admitted she applied for general assistance even though she knew she was not eligible.Tyon pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, Western Division, to misdemeanor theft of Government funds. She will not serve prison or probation time, but was ordered to pay $4,775 in restitution.

The OIG investigated allegations that Doris White, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Eagle Butte, SD, stole trust income from her family members who had inherited income-generating land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs held the land in trust and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) administered the income.We substantiated the allegation. White admitted to us that her family members were not aware of the oil and gas royalty income generated by the land and that between 2005 and 2017, she stole nearly $1.4 million from their accounts. She intentionally concealed the lease income by hiding, and eventually destroying, the family members’ account statements. White said she used the stolen money on herself and her family members.White pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, Central Division, to one count of larceny, 18 U.S.C. §§ 661 and 1153, and was sentenced to 3 months in prison. She agreed to pay $1,398,713.83 in restitution to her family members.

Adam Micek, a resident of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, on February 20, 2020, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his involvement in an Amtrak eVoucher scheme. Micek and his co-conspirators used stolen credit card information to make unauthorized purchases of Amtrak tickets and then cancelled or exchanged those tickets for eVouchers. Subsequently, they sold the fraudulently obtained eVouchers on the internet. Micek’s sentencing is pending.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated an allegation that an employee in the VA Office of General Counsel’s District Contracting National Practice Group was approved to move his/her office from Pittsburgh to Altoona, Pennsylvania, but continued to improperly receive the higher locality pay for the Pittsburgh area. The OIG substantiated that the employee’s telework agreement did not comply with applicable regulations, which require an employee to report to his or her official worksite twice per pay period when the employee is not in a permanent telework arrangement. In this instance, the employee’s official worksite was Pittsburgh and the employee’s supervisor had approved an exception to accommodate the employee’s caregiving needs for a family member. This approval occurred in 2008, and the telework arrangement remained in effect through at least November 2017. Although exceptions can be granted on a temporary basis, there is no discretion to grant a permanent exception to the requirement that a teleworking employee report to his or her official worksite twice per pay period. There was no evidence that the employee’s supervisors ever reassessed the telework arrangement to determine whether it continued to be appropriate. The OIG determined that the employee and the employee’s supervisors took appropriate corrective action once the issue became known in November 2017, prior to the initiation of the OIG’s investigation. The OIG did not identify any evidence to suggest that the failure to reassess the employee’s telework circumstances was the result of an intentional effort to improperly impact the employee’s locality pay. Accordingly, the OIG did not substantiate misconduct. The OIG makes one recommendation relating to the need to clarify the authority and obligations of telework-approving supervisors within the Office of General Counsel.

Twenty-one Amtrak machinists and supervisors were coached and counseled between October 31, 2019 and February 16, 2020, after our investigation determined the employees received temporary pay increases they were not entitled to. Known as “pay differentials,” these temporary hourly pay increases are granted for work performed beyond an employee’s regular duties. We found that employees based in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, were ineligible to receive the pay differentials, yet they requested these payments from the company’s Work Management System and their supervisors approved them without proper verification. We found that the company paid approximately $43,000 in pay differentials that it was not contractually obligated to pay under its collective bargaining agreement. Company officials said they implemented an updated pay differential policy that will prevent such future payments unless they are explicitly approved by management.

The OIG investigated allegations that two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) pilots parked their personally owned planes in an FWS hangar during the winter and maintained the planes using FWS tools and supplies. The complainant further alleged that a refuge manager was aware of complaints about the matter but failed to act.We confirmed the pilots used an FWS hangar to maintain their personal planes but found that refuge managers permitted limited personal use outside of official hours if it did not impede official refuge business. We did identify one civilian complaint about the use of the hangar, but we did not find any evidence the refuge manager was aware of it.We did not find any specific FWS or DOI guidance or policy that would either prohibit or allow personal use of Government hangars. Additionally, the practice of allowing personal use of FWS hangars seemed to vary from refuge to refuge.

The OIG investigated an allegation that Eric Rickerson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) State Supervisor, Lacey, WA, sexually assaulted an FWS employee while the two were at an FWS conference. The assaulted employee said that she, Rickerson, and a another male FWS employee shared a cabin with two bedrooms and a loft at the resort. The employee alleged that Rickerson came to her loft bedroom uninvited, exposed himself, and touched her inappropriately.We found that Rickerson entered the employee’s loft bedroom uninvited four times during the night, exposed himself to her multiple times, climbed into her bed naked, and touched her in a sexual manner more than once without her permission.We referred our findings to the Deschutes County District Attorney and on October 29, 2019, Rickerson pleaded guilty to felony coercion and misdemeanor sex abuse, harassment, intimidation, and private indecency. Rickerson was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 36 months supervised probation. He also must register as a sex offender and pay the employee $5,856.07 in restitution.The FWS suspended Rickerson without pay during the investigation and he resigned from his position with the FWS on November 5, 2019.

DOJ News Release

An Amtrak Passenger Conductor in Los Angeles, California, was terminated from employment on January 23, 2020, following the employee’s administrative hearing for violating company policy. Our investigation found that the employee was convicted of a DUI in July 2015 and failed to report the conviction to the company, as required by company policy.

An Amtrak senior employee in Los Angeles, California, was terminated from employment on January 21, 2020, and a Los Angeles-based senior employee in Mechanical Operations was issued a written reprimand on the same date following the issuance of our investigative report. Our investigation found that the senior employee solicited money and accepted gifts from company contractors. Our investigation also found that the senior employee in Mechanical Operations misused company equipment and email when proposing a personal business venture with a company contractor.

Ryan Taylor Minter, of Calumet City, Illinois, pleaded guilty in the Central District of Illinois to charges of wire fraud on December 20, 2019.Our investigation found that Minter participated in a scheme to defraud Amtrak and others by using stolen credit card information from at least 216 different credit or debit cards to purchase Amtrak tickets online valued at over $29,000. Minter used Amtrak’s mobile application and website to purchase the tickets and then advertised them at a discounted price on social media sites frequented by college students. As part of the plea agreement, Minter has agreed to pay restitution if so ordered by the court.Minter was previously indicted on 5 counts of wire fraud and was arrested on July 1, 2019. Minter will be sentenced at a future date.