Former Amtrak employee sentenced for CARES Act fraud

September 27, 2023

NEW ORLEANS — A former Amtrak employee pleaded guilty July 24, 2023, to making false statements related to her application for pandemic relief funds, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana.

Brandi Weber, 28, formerly of New Orleans, made false statements on or about April 2, 2021, when applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Weber falsely stated she was a self-employed esthetician impacted by the pandemic, when in fact, she had no such business in 2020.

Weber was sentenced to two years’ probation and was ordered to pay $29,177.50 in restitution to the Small Business Administration and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Agents from Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General investigated this case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Reports of fraud, waste, or abuse, including suspected pandemic relief fraud; criminal or unethical acts affecting Amtrak’s property or operations; or mismanagement in Amtrak programs or operations can be made 24 hours a day via the Amtrak OIG Hotline at 1-800-468-5469 or online at https://direc.to/hPAu.

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