Investigative Reports

A sheet metal worker based in Los Angeles, California, was terminated from employment on August 5, 2025, following an administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by making profane, sexually explicit remarks to a female co-worker while on duty. Three other employees corroborated the incident. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

In June 2024, at our request, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) found and provided us 36 matches for U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) employees who were connected to federal government pandemic relief loans. Pursuant to the commitment of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to fostering and promoting accountability and integrity in government, we undertook an investigation into the 36 matches to determine the appropriateness of these employees receiving pandemic relief loans. Specifically, we sought to detect fraud in these pandemic relief loans.

United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay $629,043 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to contribute the required percentage of resources in exchange for AmeriCorps funds the county received.

A high-speed rail tech based in New York City resigned from his position on July 29, 2025, prior to the conclusion of his administrative hearing. We found that the former employee violated company policies by lying about the extent of an injury while on a medical leave of absence. We also found that the former employee owned and/or operated two companies while on a medical leave, also in violation of company policies. He is not eligible for rehire.

A machinist journeyman based in Sunrise, Florida, was sentenced July 23, 2025, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, to 18 months of probation and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $90,900 after pleading guilty to one count of felony theft, as a result of money received from fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic-related loan applications. Our investigation found that the employee submitted an application containing false statements to the Small Business Administration to qualify for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan. As a result, the employee received $91,000 to which he was not entitled. The employee also submitted an application containing false statements and information for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, resulting in receipt of an additional $9,194 to which he was not entitled.

Two Amtrak Police Department (APD) senior officers received written counseling on July 23, 2025, as a result of our investigation. We found that one officer violated company policy by having on-duty APD officers transport her to various locations on two days while she was off-duty. In addition, we found that the second officer violated company policy by using his company-issued APD vehicle to go to his father’s residence while on-duty and off-duty.

Three individuals were separately sentenced in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, for their roles in a scheme that defrauded health insurance companies—including approximately $1.15 million in fraudulent billings to Amtrak’s health care plan—through a California-based substance abuse treatment center, Paragon Recovery LLC.

Stephen Reeder, an Ohio resident and Paragon’s program director, was sentenced on June 6, 2025, to two years of probation and ordered to forfeit $42,675. Reeder paid patient brokers William Leonard and Casimiro Bojorquez, both California residents, illegal kickbacks in exchange for unlawfully brokering patients to treatment facilities owned and operated by Paragon.

Leonard was sentenced on July 18, 2025, to five years of probation and ordered to forfeit $234,000. Bojorquez was sentenced on April 11, 2025, to time served, three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $176,000.

SEC Investigative Summary 25-0015

We found an energy company failed to decommission operations as required within one year after its Federal oil and gas leases expired.

Our investigation determined that between 2022 and 2023, two Amtrak Supervisors 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 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 one of the supervisors 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. We further found that an Engineer, based in Philadelphia, violated the internal hours‐of‐service policy by allowing and encouraging 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 supervisors were terminated after their disciplinary hearings in July 2025. They are not eligible for rehire.

We found that a former Research Archeologist at a non-profit organization embezzled over $35,000 of BOR funds for personal expenses.