Investigative Reports

An Amtrak supervisor resigned on November 14, 2019, for violating company policy by stealing company property and misusing his own and other employees’ company time for personal tasks. The case has been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice, and criminal proceedings are pending.

The OIG investigated allegations that Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribal Police Officer Willard White stole $40,000 from the Tribe. White allegedly obtained the funds under the pretense of creating a youth diversion program but spent the money on personal purchases and did not create the program.We found the Tribe gave White $40,000 to create a youth diversion program. White, however, spent the entire amount on personal purchases, none of which supported the establishment of the proposed program. In addition, White did not report the $40,000 as income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).White pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana to one count of18 U.S.C. § 1343, Wire Fraud, and one count of 26 U.S.C. § 7201, Income Tax Evasion. On October 9, 2019, White was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution to the Fort Peck Tribe, $18,050 in restitution to the IRS, and a $200 special assessment.

The OIG investigated allegations that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) official awarded or manipulated a grant to a friend in return for a favor. It was further alleged that the official benefited from a different grant that the FWS awarded to a State agency and that he may have used inside knowledge to purchase and enroll land in a Government program so he could benefit financially.We found no evidence that the FWS official awarded or manipulated any grants that benefitted himself or others. We also found no evidence that the FWS official violated any laws or rules by purchasing land and enrolling the land into a Government program.

DOL OIG Investigations Newsletter Vol. XXIV August 1 - September 30, 2019

A former Amtrak Program Manager based in Washington, D.C., and her sister entered into a Community Service Deferred Sentencing Agreement, in Superior Court, District of Columbia, on October 28, 2019. As part of the agreement, they agreed to each pay $2,128 in restitution to Amtrak, complete 48 hours of community service, write a letter of apology to Amtrak, and not violate any laws for six months in order to avoid sentencing for their crime. The employee was terminated on July 1, 2019, for fraudulently allowing a family member to use her company travel pass and Amtrak Identification card to frequently travel on Amtrak trains between May 2018 and June 2019.

An Amtrak On Board Services employee in New Orleans was terminated from employment on October 9, 2019, following an administrative hearing for violating company policy. Our investigation found that the employee fraudulently advertised and accepted payment for an Amtrak private charter trip that Amtrak officials neither authorized nor scheduled. The employee accepted $400-$500 for reservations from at least 35 members of the public for this non-existent trip. As part of the fraudulent scheme, the employee used the Amtrak company logo, company e-mail, and photographs in communications with the victims. Judicial proceedings are pending.

Joshua Pearson, a marketer from St. George, Utah, pleaded guilty on October 22, 2019, in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, to receipt of illegal kickbacks related to a health care fraud scheme. As part the scheme, Pearson received kickbacks from Sheridan Medical for patient referrals for compounded drugs—drugs that were medically unnecessary. A marketer from Sheridan Medical and the owner of Fusion Rx Compounding Pharmacy, both in Los Angeles, were also charged for their role in the scheme. The Amtrak health insurance plan was fraudulently billed $17,000 as a result of the scheme. Criminal judicial proceedings for all three defendants are pending.