Investigations

On January 11 and January 28, 2019, Donald Scott Crothers and John Gonzales, respectively, were charged via informations filed in U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with one count of Federal program bribery and aiding and abetting. The charges relate to their roles in a bribery and kickback scheme involving $7.6 million in federally funded Amtrak contracts. Timothy Miller, a former lead contract administrator at Amtrak, pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his role in the scheme on January 18, 2018.

 

The informations allege that Crothers, former vice president for sales and marketing at Company 1, and Gonzales, the former executive vice president and chief financial officer, corruptly gave, offered, and agreed to give things of value to Miller to influence and reward him in a series of contractual transactions. From approximately August 2015 through July 2017, through Miller's efforts, Amtrak awarded Company 1 four federally funded fleet maintenance contracts worth in excess of $7.6 million. In return for steering the contracts and providing pricing information to Company 1, Crothers and Gonzales gave Miller approximately $20,000 and other things of value, including trips to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. To conceal the scheme, Miller created a sham company called Miller Consulting to make it appear that the bribes paid by Crothers and Gonzales were for legitimate consulting services.

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with the Amtrak-OIG, FBI, and IRS-CID.

 

Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.