Investigative Reports

Sean Langston, a former Amtrak supervisor based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his role in a wide-ranging pandemic fraud scheme on July 30, 2024, in Chester County, Pennsylvania State Court. Langston was sentenced to 6 months in prison, 6 months home incarceration and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $295,418. Our investigation found that Langston fraudulently applied for and received two Economic Injury Disaster loans and a Paycheck Protection Program loan totaling $268,487.The employee was previously terminated for falsely claiming and accepting payment for regular pay, overtime pay, and compensatory time for days he did not work and for using his company-owned vehicle for unauthorized purposes during work hours, including personal business.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) conducted a proactive review of
AmeriCorps employees who may have improperly applied for and received unemployment
insurance (UI) payments while actively employed.
AmeriCorps OIG developed a list of potential matches of AmeriCorps employees and individuals
who had applied for UI benefits. AmeriCorps OIG identified ten potential matches for further
investigation.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) investigated an allegation that AmeriCorps members serving at the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) in Burlington, VT, were directed to alter previously approved timesheets. The investigation foundevidence that CEDO’s AmeriCorps Program Director had directed five members to alter previously approved timesheets, including altering timesheets weeks after the end of their service terms in order to raise the hours served to meet the minimum threshold to earn Segal Education Awards.

We found that a former BOR employee violated Federal ethics laws by accepting gifts in the form of loans from a Government contractor.

We did not substantiate allegations that a DOI official did not comply with the ethics regulation regarding personal and business relationships.

An Amtrak Director based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on July 3, 2024, following the issuance of our investigative report. Our investigation found that the employee, along with another former employee, violated company policies by surreptitiously transmitting confidential company information without authorization to do so. Specifically, the employee transmitted the information to a private rail advocacy organization, resulting in its publication in the press and jeopardizing the company’s relationship with its stakeholders.

Navanjun Grewal, a doctor based in Los Angeles, California, was sentenced on July 2, 2024, in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, for making a false statement and for obstructing a federal audit related to a health care fraud investigation. Grewal was sentenced to two years’ probation and was ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution.Our investigation found that Grewal knowingly and willfully submitted a fraudulent document to the Department of Defense in response to an audit request regarding prescriptions for compounded medications that had been submitted to TRICARE for reimbursement. Grewal created and submitted fraudulent patient files in response to the audit. Grewal was part of a large health care fraud scheme in which beneficiaries were solicited to provide their insurance information to a pharmacist for medication they did not seek or need. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s heath care plan was billed $32,489 of which $26,962 was paid, and Tricare, the U.S. military’s health care plan, paid $12,264,685 on the fraudulently submitted claims.

We found a BIE employee violated Federal ethics laws and regulations by owning and operating a personal business that received BIA contracts.

The Office of Investigations initiated an investigation in June 2021 based on concerns from the EPA Office of Wastewater Management that Grandview, Washington, acquired construction materials for a CWSRF project that may have been falsely advertised on a Canadian manufacturing company’s website as following AIS requirements. We determined that Grandview made every effort to comply with the AIS requirements; however, there is a question as to whether the Canadian company’s manhole products complied with AIS requirements. We identified a concern regarding the ambiguity of AIS requirements for PVC components being used in CWSRF projects.

An Amtrak foreman based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on June 25, 2024, following an administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the employee violated company policies by falsely reporting in the company’s Work Management System that required safety inspections had been completed for the stairs on three Venture Cars in Chicago. As a result, these cars, which should have been taken out of service, were put into service the following morning. Once we determined the required safety inspections were not completed, we notified management, and the inspections of the cars were completed.