Investigations

On March 15, 2019, Lamont Brown, Adam Micek, Kevin Nelson, and Andre Wilburn were indicted in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York, on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Nelson and Wilburn were also charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

 

The indictment alleges that from April 2016 through July 2018, the defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud Amtrak. Specifically, they allegedly used unauthorized or stolen credit card account numbers obtained from the “dark web” to make trip reservations on Amtrak’s ticketing system. The defendants then canceled the reservations, resulting in the issuance of eVouchers, which the defendants sold at a discount on websites such as eBay. Amtrak refunded approximately $450,000 in unauthorized purchases to victimized consumers. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant monies helped pay for the upgrade of Amtrak’s computer ticketing system, which includes the eVoucher system.

 

On February 28, 2019, Wilburn was also indicted in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, on one count of sexual exploitation of a child on November 6, 2016, and one count of possession of child pornography on September 6, 2018. These violations were discovered during the investigation into the scheme to defraud Amtrak

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigating with DHS-HSI and Amtrak-OIG.

 

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