SEVENTEEN AMTRAK EMPLOYEES RESIGN AFTER PARTICIPATING IN HEALTH CARE CONSPIRACY TARGETING AMTRAK PLAN

Seventeen Amtrak employees based at New York Penn Station or the NW Base in New Jersey, consisting of two Gang Foremen, four linemen, three truck drivers, six 3rd Rail welders, one trackman, and one electronic technician resigned in connection with an OIG investigation of alleged healthcare fraud. Five of those who resigned were among 10 current and former employees charged by indictment June 20, 2024, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The resignations occurred between July 15 and September 12, 2024. Our investigation found that the employees participated in an $11 million health care fraud scheme beginning in 2019 and continuing to June 2022 involving health care providers and others who recruited Amtrak employees—primarily from New Jersey and New York—to participate in the scheme. The employees were given cash payments in exchange for allowing the health care providers to use their patient and insurance information to submit fraudulent claims to Amtrak’s health care plan for services that they never provided or that were medically unnecessary.