Investigative Reports

An Amtrak sheet metal worker/mechanic based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on June 18, 2021, following his administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by failing to disclose a conviction to the company during his employment and by using sick leave while serving time in jail and while confined to his home on electronic monitoring.

An Amtrak Foreman was terminated from employment on June 18, 2021, for misusing a General Services Administration (GSA) fuel card in violation of Amtrak policy. The employee admitted to using the fuel card from July 2019 to June 2021 to make over $7,400 in fuel purchases for his personal vehicle and vehicles belonging to other family members. The investigation was conducted with the GSA OIG.

Robert Barrows, a former Amtrak Assistant Conductor, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, on June 17, 2021, to making a false statement to obtain federal employee’s compensation in 2016. Barrows falsely claimed on his unemployment benefits claim form that he had no income during the claim period when he applied for Railroad Retirement Board unemployment benefits. Our investigation was conducted jointly with the RRB Office of Inspector General.

Jonathan Lasko, a resident of Hollywood, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court ofthe Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County on June 15, 2021, to charges relatedto a health care fraud scheme. Lasko, who owned addiction treatment facilities inFlorida and California, engaged in a scheme where he paid kickbacks to marketers, alsoknown as “patient brokers,” for the referral of patients to his facilities. Lasko pleadedguilty to First Degree Felony Organized Scheme to Defraud and was sentenced to fiveyears of probation. He admitted to defrauding insurance companies, includingAmtrak’s insurance administrator, Aetna, in an aggregate amount exceeding $50,000.Criminal judicial proceedings for other defendants in this case are pending.

Jean Francois Picard, a medical marketer based in Los Angeles, was sentenced in United States District Court, Southern District of California, on June 14, 2021, to 10 months in prison and three years of probation for payment of illegal remunerations. Our investigation found that Picard paid kickbacks to other marketers for facilitating the referral of prescriptions for medically unnecessary compounded drugs and other items reimbursed by health care benefit programs. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were fraudulently charged approximately $22,000. Criminal judicial proceedings for other defendants in this case are pending.

An Amtrak coach cleaner based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on June 10, 2021, following his administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by failing to report his arrest and conviction for driving under the influence and failing to report two other criminal convictions while employed by the company.

A former Amtrak electrician in Chicago pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, to Financial Institution Fraud on June 9, 2021. The former employee was sentenced on the same date to one year probation and paid $11,944.44 in restitution to US Bank. Our investigation found that the former employee established a business and used it to engage in fraudulent credit card schemes.

Joshua Pearson, a marketer from St. George, Utah, was sentenced on June 3, 2021, in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, to three years probation, six months home confinement, and was ordered to forfeit $1,250,000. Pearson previously pleaded guilty to receipt of illegal kickbacks related to a health care fraud scheme after our joint investigation found that he 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. Amtrak’s health insurance plan was fraudulently billed $17,000 as a result of the scheme. Criminal judicial proceedings for the other defendants are pending.

Lamont Brown, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, on June 2, 2021, to a prison term of time served, probation for 36-months and was ordered to pay restitution of $97,210 to Amtrak. Brown previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his involvement in an Amtrak eVoucher scheme. Our investigation found that Brown and his co-conspirators used stolen credit card information to make unauthorized purchases of Amtrak tickets, canceled or exchanged those tickets for eVouchers, and then sold the fraudulently obtained eVouchers on the internet.

A procurement manager was terminated from employment on May 21, 2021, after our investigation found she violated Amtrak policies by repeatedly mischaracterizing the relationship with and misrepresenting actions by our office to intimidate and coerce Amtrak employees and vendors from taking certain actions or into conducting certain actions on multiple occasions. Although the employee admitted to her misconduct, she was also evasive and provided inconsistent responses to our agents during her interview with us.