CHICAGO — Six former railroad employees face charges carrying prison sentences up to 20 years, as well as cash penalties ranging from $10,000 to more than $270,000, after being indicted for alleged disability-benefits fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois has announced.
The six are accused of working other jobs while providing false information to the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board’s Disability Benefits Division, and were charged as part of an ongoing national investigation of Railroad Retirement Board fraud by rail workers and their families.
Charged are Scott Carlberg, 50, of Menomonie, Wis., a former Soo Line engineer; Ronald Lee Cribbs, 49, of Hastings, Fla.; a former CSX employee; Robie Vonderhaar, 58, of Gottenberg, Iowa, a former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern foreman; Richard W. Browner Jr., 65, of Toms River, N.J., a former assistant line engineer for NJ Transit; James Bonner, 52, of Shalimar, Fla., a former BNSF Railway eningeer, and King Bradley Jr., 48, of Medina, Tenn., a former Illinois Central conductor.
Carlsberg, Cribbs, Vonderhaar, and Browner face multiple counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prinson. Bonner and Bradley are charged with making materially false statements to the FBI and Railroad Retirement Board, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
“The fraud alleged in these indictments is appalling,” Martin J. Dickman, inspector general of the Railroad Retirement Board, said in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “My office will continue to pursue individuals who attempt to defraud the USRRB and the actors who may help perpetuate the fraud, whether they be medical professionals, contractors, private employers, or government employees.”
This reminds me of the scam, also at Chicago, when people were clocking in at Amtrak Maintenance; then clocking in at Metra; with others covering for them, and getting a kick-back. This was happening during the time of “the Michigan Coaches”—-15 former Metroliners renovated with Michigan money—-4 for the Pere Marquette; 4 for the International Limited (I’m thinking that the Port Huron train was not the Blue Water, as the International switched back to the BW soon after 9/11/2001), and 7 built into cab control coaches for the Wolverine route. This was happening before 1994 when Conductor “Herby” from Bridgman, MI—-one of the BEST trainmen on the PM retired. One very rainy night, he asked me to board #370 when it arrived at GRR, to witness the MANY roof leaks that were not being repaired, due to that scam. This was about the time of the Holland Depot Renovation Open House; where a train of the Michigan Coaches were displayed, with the public invited to walk thru the equipment display—the freight railroad allowing the mainline to be blocked for 4 hours; except for one west bound double-stack CP/SOO run-thru—-requiring the movement of the passenger display equipment to be moved to the Holland yard. Though only a MARP volunteer, the freight railroad asked me to help with keeping the public away from the tracks, so they wouldn’t get run-over by the doublestack.
Some people get gready and abuse benefits others need.