NEW ORLEANS — A former Amtrak on-board services attendant has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly selling spaces on a non-existent New Orleans-New York City trip, and for allegedly submitting false sick benefit claims to the Railroad Retirement Board.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana says in a press release that Kenya Butler-Small convinced more than 40 people to purchase spots for a round trip between New Orleans and New York in 2019, saying she had arranged an Amtrak charter, as well as activities such as shows and museum visits. She had not actually done so, and after collecting $23,000 to $26,000, told the individuals the trip had been cancelled because one of the trip’s passengers assaulted an Amtrak worker and made a bomb threat. No such incident had occurred.
Butler-Small also allegedly received approximately $4,679 in sick pay when she said she was too ill to work while she was actually working another job.
Penalties for each count of wire fraud include up to 20 years in prison, three years of probation, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Looks like her gravy train is going to be prison food.
Ms Butler-Small is not as smart as she thought when allegedly committing wire fraud.