Investigative Reports

A passenger conductor based in Raleigh, North Carolina, was terminated from employment on April 26, 2025, following an administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by allowing an unknown and un-ticketed individual to proceed to the train platform and put an unidentified package onto the train without knowing its contents. The package was subsequently found to contain illegal narcotics. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

A management official based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on April 24, 2025, as the result of our investigation. We found that the former employee violated company policies by engaging in outside employment while on a medical leave of absence and conducting outside business activities while on company time. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

An Amtrak Supervisor based in Philadelphia violated company policy between 2022 and 2023 by not swiping out on a Time Entry Device after his shifts and, subsequently, swiping out and immediately back in when he returned to work. In addition, our investigation revealed that the supervisor directed multiple subordinates to follow this same swiping protocol. The scheme allowed recording of significant consecutive hours for each employee. The employees used this swiping protocol to inaccurately claim a full eight hours of regular pay in Amtrak’s timekeeping system, instead of correctly recording seven hours of regular pay and one hour of Code 29 pay (hours paid but not worked), thereby creating inaccurate financial accounting records and hiding Code 29 hours from management.

The supervisor was terminated after his disciplinary hearing in April 2025 and is not eligible for rehire.

Our investigation determined that, between 2022 and 2023, an Amtrak Supervisor based in Philadelphia and several other employees violated company policy by not swiping out on a Time Entry Device (TED) after their shifts and, subsequently, swiping out and immediately back in when they returned to work. This resulted in the recording of significant consecutive TED hours. The employees used this swiping protocol to inaccurately claim a full eight hours of regular pay in Maximo, Amtrak’s timekeeping system, instead of correctly recording seven hours of regular pay and one hour of Code 29 pay (hours paid but not worked) to which they were actually entitled.

We also found that the supervisor collected additional Code 29 hours to which he was not entitled, in violation of the Infrastructure Management and Construction Services’ (IMCS) internal hours‐of‐service policy, which limits the number of hours an IMCS employee can work to 16 hours in a 24‐hour period. We further found that a Division Engineer, based in Philadelphia, violated the internal hours‐of‐service policy by allowing and encouraging these employees to claim Code 29 pay after working only 14 hours, which resulted in the company paying for hundreds of unnecessary Code 29 hours. The supervisor was terminated and is no longer eligible for rehire, and the Engineer was reprimanded.

Our investigation determined that an Amtrak Engineer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, violated company policies by misusing his company-issued computer to conduct personal business on company time and failing to report three outside businesses on his annual Certificates of Compliance. He was terminated on April 16, 2025, and he is not eligible for rehire.

A lead service attendant based in Chicago, Illinois, resigned from his position on April 10, 2025, as a result of our investigation. We found that the former employee violated company policies by consuming alcohol while staying in company-supplied lodging and allowing his girlfriend to stay in his hotel room. We also found that the former employee failed to disclose a conviction on his background questionnaire form during the company’s hiring process. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

Our investigation determined that an Amtrak manager based in Philadelphia likely forged an employee’s signature on his final disciplinary waiver and a second disciplinary waiver for another employee in December 2022. On March 31, 2025, the manager was placed on administrative leave pending termination. He retired on April 8, 2025, and is no longer eligible for rehire.

Our investigation determined that an Amtrak Trackman based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, violated company policies by failing to disclose three criminal convictions for theft—including two graded as felonies—in his employment application. The employee was terminated on April 2, 2025, and is no longer eligible for rehire.

A lead service attendant based in Sacramento, California, resigned from her position on April 2, 2025, as a result of our investigation. We found that the former employee violated company policies by failing to remit cash payments to the company for purchases made by customers while she operated the café car concession. The former employee voided cash sales transactions and then failed to remit the cash at the completion of her route. She is not eligible for rehire.

We received a hotline complaint in April 2024 from an individual asking the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate why their conditional offer of employment with the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was withdrawn. Based on what we learned during our initial investigation, we broadened our investigation to include a review of the CPSC’s compliance with
laws and regulations regarding all prescreen waivers accomplished during the time period defined below. 

This investigation covers events that occurred between July 2021 and June 2024. These events included the withdrawal of Complainant’s conditional offer of employment in October 2023.

OIG issued this report to consolidate its unresolved investigations-derived recommendations into a single resource for FCC, and to inform critical stakeholders of the threats to program integrity identified by FCC OIG’s investigative work. 

An Amtrak ticket/accounting representative based in Greensboro, North Carolina, was terminated from employment on March 27, 2025, following an administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by allowing an unknown and un-ticketed individual to proceed to the train platform and put an unidentified package onto the train without knowing its contents. The package was subsequently found to contain illegal narcotics. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General investigated potential displacement of paid staff at Hawaii Community Assets (HCA), undisclosed dual employment by a program official at HCA and Aloha United Way (AUW), and improper charging of time by two Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program officials at AUW.