Federal law enforcement have launched a criminal probe centered on six New York City Amtrak employees who resigned from their positions amid an investigation into alleged time and attendance fraud at the rail company, The Post has learned.
The employees, a supervisor, two assistant supervisors, two foremen and a driver, stepped down amid a probe by Amtrak’s Inspector General, the official watchdog said in a brief report released in March.
Amtrak’s inspector general determined the employees violated company policy by misusing their company IDs – or by creating their own counterfeit badges – that they used to clock in and out for one another in attendance machines.
In response to a request for documents about the resignations, a spokesperson for the inspector general told The Post that they were subject to an active and ongoing criminal investigation.
“The OIG’s investigation into the case referenced in your request remains active and open as of the date of this response letter and is also a part of an active and ongoing criminal proceeding,” the letter states.
The employees resigned amid the investigation. Spencer Platt/Getty Images“The premature release of this information could reveal the full scope of evidence obtained and the progress, status, direction, and limits of the government’s investigation,” the letter adds.
In 2017, two former Amtrak supervisors from New Jersey, Richard Vogel and Donald Harper, each pleaded guilty to overbilling the company for hundreds of bogus hours that cost Amtrak hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Harper was sentenced to three years of probation, while Vogel was sentenced to six months home detention, according to court records.
A spokesperson for Amtrak did not immediately respond to request for comment.
