NEWARK, N.J. — Five Amtrak employees have recently pleaded guilty to charges relating to a health care scheme that resulted in more than $11 million in fraudulent claims to the company’s health care plan.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced this week that Kevin Frink, 53, of Willingboro, N.J., pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commet health care fraud. Previously, Michael Toal, 35, of Hazlet, N.J.; David McBrien, 37, of Levitttown, Pa.; Damany Walker, 41, of Irvington, N.J.; and David Lonergan, 65, of Rockaway Park, N.Y., pleaded guilty to the same charge.
“The defendants admitted to colluding with corrupt health care providers in a scheme to defraud Amtrak’s health care plan for personal financial gain,” U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a press release. “My office is committed to holding accountable those who profit from health care scams, like this one, that harm the public and the health care system.”
The indictment also charges four other co-cospirators: Quinton Johnson, 53, of Irvington, N.J.; Gregory Richardson, 35, of Roosevelt, N.Y.; Timothy Bogen, 59, of Hamden, Conn.; and Dion Jacob, 50, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
According to court documents, the co-conspirators received cash kickbacks from health care providers in exchange for allowing their insurance plan to be billed for services that were never provided and were not medically necessary. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Walker and O’Brien are scheduled to be sentenced on July 24; Lonergan on Aug. 20; Frink on Oct. 9; and Toal on Oct. 23.
Earlier this month, Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General issued a report saying Amtrak has a “troubling workforce culture, at least in the Northeast region, in which blatant criminal behavior was somehow normalized.” [See “Amtrak watchdog says …,” Trains News Wire, May 7, 2025]. The report said at least 119 employees had been involved in the health-care scheme. Seventeen employees resigned last year because of the investigation. At that time, the case had already led to six guilty pleas and agreements for more than $11.6 million in restitution [see “Seventeen Amtrak employees resign …,” News Wire, Oct. 16, 2024].
Amtrak has also seen former employees in the Northeast charged or otherwise involved in an information technology bribery scheme [see “Former Amtrak IT official, two others indicted ….,” News Wire, May 1, 2025], and a long-running bribery case involving renovations at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia [see “Contractor pleads guilty …,” May 1, 2025].
