NEWARK, N.J. — An Amtrak employee has pleaded guilty to participation in a health-care scheme that defrauded the passenger operator’s health plan of more than $11 million.
Rodolfo Rivera, 41, of Clayton, Del., pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said in a press release. That indictment also charged nine others in connection with the scheme.
It is the latest development in an ongoing case that saw 17 Amtrak employees resign last year, as well as two health-care providers receiving prison sentences of 34 and 26 months [see “Seventeen Amtrak employees resign …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 16, 2024].
Rivera faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26, 2025.
According to court filings and statements in court, Rivera and the others indicted, who were also Amtrak employees, were part of a scheme to receive cash kickbacks in exchange for allowing the health-care providers to bill the insurance plan for services that were not medically necessary and were never provided.
There is fraud in medical billings throughout the US so I’m not surprised that it happened with Amtrak. However, any employee who willingly takes part in it is going to have a very hard time ever getting hired by any employer who offers medical care to its workers.
I sure hope this development will not infringe on the top execs bonuses.