Investigative Reports

An Electronic Technician based in Boston resigned from the company on July 12, 2021, prior to his disciplinary hearing. From March 30, 2021, through April 30, 2021, the former employee violated company policies by fraudulently claiming and accepting payment for over 62 hours of straight time and overtime hours that he did not work or was not authorized to work, for which he received over $2,825 in compensation. When we interviewed the employee, he initially lied about his actions but eventually admitted that he did not work all of the hours he claimed. The technician is not eligible for rehire.

This report of investigation pertains to the actions of former EPA Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson and former Senior Advisor to the Region 9 Administrator Charles Munoz.

A Clerk based in Bear, Delaware, was terminated on July 8, 2021, for failing to report his December 2020 arrest for drug-related charges. Company policy requires employees to notify the company as soon as practicable after an arrest, or within 48 hours after being released from incarceration. The employee’s disclosure occurred nearly six months later, and only after he was formally asked about the arrest during the course of our investigation.

Henry Abdelnoor, a former Lead Services Attendant based in New York, was sentenced in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Burlington County, on July 7, 2021, to three years of probation for stalking. The criminal charge resulted from Abdelnoor’s conduct prior to a company disciplinary hearing for posting inappropriate comments on Facebook. Prior to the hearing, Abdelnoor attempted to influence a victim’s complaint against him by allegedly offering the victim a $5,000 payment in exchange for recanting her statement in court. Abdelnoor previously pleaded guilty to the criminal charge on May 26, 2021. He resigned from the company on March 4, 2021, and is ineligible for rehire.

We did not substantiate allegations that the National Park Service improperly hired a senior political employee.

An Amtrak sheet metal worker/mechanic based in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on June 18, 2021, following his administrative hearing. Our investigation found that the former employee violated company policy by failing to disclose a conviction to the company during his employment and by using sick leave while serving time in jail and while confined to his home on electronic monitoring.

An Amtrak Foreman was terminated from employment on June 18, 2021, for misusing a General Services Administration (GSA) fuel card in violation of Amtrak policy. The employee admitted to using the fuel card from July 2019 to June 2021 to make over $7,400 in fuel purchases for his personal vehicle and vehicles belonging to other family members. The investigation was conducted with the GSA OIG.

Robert Barrows, a former Amtrak Assistant Conductor, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, on June 17, 2021, to making a false statement to obtain federal employee’s compensation in 2016. Barrows falsely claimed on his unemployment benefits claim form that he had no income during the claim period when he applied for Railroad Retirement Board unemployment benefits. Our investigation was conducted jointly with the RRB Office of Inspector General.

Jonathan Lasko, a resident of Hollywood, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court ofthe Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County on June 15, 2021, to charges relatedto a health care fraud scheme. Lasko, who owned addiction treatment facilities inFlorida and California, engaged in a scheme where he paid kickbacks to marketers, alsoknown as “patient brokers,” for the referral of patients to his facilities. Lasko pleadedguilty to First Degree Felony Organized Scheme to Defraud and was sentenced to fiveyears of probation. He admitted to defrauding insurance companies, includingAmtrak’s insurance administrator, Aetna, in an aggregate amount exceeding $50,000.Criminal judicial proceedings for other defendants in this case are pending.

Jean Francois Picard, a medical marketer based in Los Angeles, was sentenced in United States District Court, Southern District of California, on June 14, 2021, to 10 months in prison and three years of probation for payment of illegal remunerations. Our investigation found that Picard paid kickbacks to other marketers for facilitating the referral of prescriptions for medically unnecessary compounded drugs and other items reimbursed by health care benefit programs. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were fraudulently charged approximately $22,000. Criminal judicial proceedings for other defendants in this case are pending.