Investigative Reports

James Porter, Jr., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and Sean Porter, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, both on January 5, 2023, in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida. Our investigation found that the Florida residents conspired with others to unlawfully bill for approximately $1.4 billion of laboratory testing services which were medically unnecessary, and they fraudulently used rural hospitals as billing shells to submit claims for services that were mostly performed at outside laboratories. As a result of this scheme, Amtrak’s health care plans paid out more than $610,000 to three rural hospitals and associated laboratories. Both defendants will be sentenced at a future date. Criminal judicial proceedings for additional co-conspirators are pending.

An Amtrak Service/Train Attendant based in Miami, Florida, resigned from his position on December 20, 2022, prior to his administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policies by engaging in outside employment, including self-employment, while on medical, personal, and collective bargaining agreement leaves of absence.

Our investigation uncovered billing irregularities related to contracts on New York’s Gateway Program rail infrastructure projects in the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak recovered approximately $3 million from a contractor who charged overhead rates that exceeded maximum pay rates as proscribed by the Gateway project contracts, including approximately $1.5 million pursuant to a civil settlement agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and an additional approximately $1.5 million directly from the contractor. The Gateway contracts required that the contractor bill actual overhead rates up to a not-to-exceed maximum allowed rate. From 2013 through 2020, however, the contractor billed overhead rates that exceeded the allowed rate.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation into a complaint that alleged improprieties concerning a recent hiring action for a vacant position within the Office of General Counsel (OGC).

An Amtrak Electrician based in Groton, Connecticut, violated company policy by misusing his company-owned vehicle by regularly traveling to and stopping atlocations not associated with his work duties during his shifts, including making multiple visits to his residence throughout July 2022. In addition, we determined that the employee violated company policies by attempting to cover the lens of the interior Lytx camera in his vehicle and for not being honest or forthcoming with our agents during his interview. The employee was terminated after his disciplinary hearing on December 13, 2022.

A former Amtrak conductor based in New York City violated company policies when he failed to report his conviction for Medicaid fraud, which occurred on April 30, 2015, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. We found that the company’s Human Resources department had no record of his arrest or conviction. We interviewed the conductor, who admitted that he had been convicted of a felony, paid restitution, and regularly reported to a probation officer while working for the company. The conductor resigned on November 30, 2022, and is not eligible for rehire.