TWO AMTRAK EMPLOYEES SENTENCED, 17 TERMINATED FOR HEALTH CARE FRAUD; AMTRAK EMPLOYEE AND PHYSICAL THERAPIST PLEAD GUILTY

Two Amtrak employees were sentenced in August 2025 and a third pleaded guilty in July 2025 for their roles in a health care fraud conspiracy investigated by Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). In addition, a New York-based physical therapist pleaded guilty in June 2025 for her role in the scheme. Since May 2025, Amtrak has terminated 17 other employees who took part in the scheme but were not criminally charged. In total, 71 employees have resigned or were terminated since the inception of this investigation.

Amtrak employees Damany Walker of Gloversville, New York, and David McBrien, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, were sentenced August 20, 2025, and August 21, 2025, respectively, to two years of probation. Walker was ordered to pay $428,523 in restitution and McBrien was ordered to pay $234,778. Amtrak employee Gregory Richardson, 35, of Roosevelt, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on July 17, 2025, in U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. Walker, McBrien, and Richardson accepted cash kickbacks from health care providers for the use of their insurance information to file false and questionable medical claims for services that were never provided or not medically necessary.

Taejin Kim, a licensed physical therapist of Bayside, New York, was one of at least four health care providers who participated in the scheme. Kim pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on June 11, 2025. Kim submitted false and fraudulent claims to Amtrak’s insurance plan, and Amtrak paid approximately $2,253,453 as a result.