Investigative Reports

SEC Investigative Summary 25-0015

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.

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.

Investigative Summary 24-0008

The investigation objectives were to determine whether an ARC grantee falsified certain application and reporting requirements and to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with ARC and federal grant requirements.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General is issuing this report to Notify the Agency of concerns identified during a review of Inflation Reduction Act grants. The concerns relate to an EPA policy that applies to all Agency subawards, not just to Inflation Reduction Act subawards.

Summary of Findings

The OIG has identified concerns regarding the terms and conditions listed within the revised EPA Subaward Policy, commonly referred to as the Subaward Policy, Amended Grants Policy Issuance (GPI) 16-01, effective October 1, 2024. The Subaward Policy’s statements regarding subrecipient access to information about mandatory disclosure requirements and whistleblower protections and regarding the OIG’s right to access records are inconsistent, incomplete, and not easily navigable.