World
Amtrak bilked out of $12M by at least 119 employees, doctors in fraud scheme; many still on the job: report
At least 119 Amtrak employees and doctors took the railroad company for a ride in a massive $12 million health fraud scheme, a watchdog found.
Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said employees based in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., accepted cash kickbacks from three healthcare providers in exchange for the use of their insurance information and that of their dependents in a scheme from 2019 to 2022.
“The sheer volume of employees who cavalierly participated in this scheme to steal Amtrak’s funds suggests not only a serious lapse in basic ethics, but a troubling workforce culture, at least in the Northeast region, in which blatant criminal behavior was somehow normalized,” said Amtrak Inspector General Kevin H. Winters.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Amtrak.
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Amtrak ran service between Chicago and Florida in the 1970s. (Amtrak)
The healthcare providers used that employee information to file fraudulent and questionable medical claims for services that were never provided or not medically necessary, the OIG said. Overall, the taxpayer-funded railroad carrier’s health plan was billed more than $16 million and was bilked out of $12 million.
Of the 119 employees implicated, 28 retired or resigned as a result of the OIG’s investigation, and 30 left the company for “other reasons.” Another dozen employees have been criminally charged, and seven have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Sixty-one are still on the job.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Amtrak said it has taken “significant steps” to address medical insurance fraud.
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An Amtrak train at Penn Station in New York City. (Getty Images)
“Like many employers, Amtrak calls on medical benefit providers and insurers to do more to identify suspicious activity and stop medical insurance fraud,” the company said. “Amtrak strongly condemns this reprehensible act that occurred between 2019 and 2022 and is taking swift action with all active employees involved in the investigation.
“While we continue to work closely with the OIG to identify and stamp out fraud, we also continue to work on other initiatives to address this issue,” the statement added. “Amtrak has implemented various measures to enhance fraud prevention and empower employees to report suspected wrongdoing. These efforts include increasing oversight and strengthening efforts to eliminate fraudulent schemes.”
Canceled trains are displayed on an Amtrak departures board in Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station in New York Dec. 23, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The OIG launched a probe when an agent noticed unusual billing patterns in reports by data analysts. Three New York healthcare providers with “questionable” billings who shared a high number of Amtrak employees as patients were identified by investigators.
An undercover agent posing as an Amtrak employee met with Punson Figueroa, aka “Susie,” an acupuncturist from Long Island City, New York, June 16, 2021. During the visit, Figueroa told the agent to sign his name 30 times for service without dating the signatures, the OIG said.
Figueroa then submitted alleged fraudulent claims to Amtrak’s healthcare plan, saying the agent had visited providers at least seven times in May 2021 for acupuncture and physical therapy. The agent visited Figueroa’s office again on July 29, 2021, where she allegedly handed him an envelope containing $1,000.
Figueroa continued to use the agent’s insurance information to submit dozens of fraudulent claims to Amtrak’s healthcare plan, investigators said.
Figueroa pleaded guilty to defrauding Amtrak’s healthcare plan, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution of $9.05 million. Two other healthcare providers and a medical biller have also pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.
Authorities in North Tonawanda said a Niagara-bound Amtrak train struck a passenger vehicle May 17, 2024. (WKBW Buffalo)
Michael DeNicola, a podiatrist from New York, pleaded guilty June 29, 2022, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, distribution of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a gun. He has not yet been sentenced.
Regina Choi, a medical biller from Woodside, New York, who previously worked for Figueroa, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud June 11, 2024, for submitting false and fraudulent claims to the Amtrak health care plan and paying cash kickbacks to Amtrak employees. Her sentence is also pending.
In 2018 and 2019, OIG auditors issued separate reports that said Amtrak could strengthen measures to identify fraudulent medical claims sooner. Both reports noted billing patterns indicative of potential fraud among hundreds of providers, the OIG said.
World
Meta appeals landmark jury verdict that found it to blame for social media addiction for young users
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has appealed the verdict of a landmark social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles, challenging the jury’s determination that the company designed its platforms to hook young users without concern for their well-being.
Lawyers representing Meta filed a notice of appeal Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The lawyers will provide their arguments related to the appeal in subsequent court filings.
The case centered on a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health struggles. The jury found that negligence by both Meta and Google-owned YouTube, which was also a defendant in the case, was a substantial factor in causing harm to the young woman, identified in court only by her initials, KGM, and her first name, Kaley.
The jury awarded her $3 million in damages and recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages. Her lead attorney, Mark Lanier, said in a statement Friday that the legal team is expecting the appellate court to “continue the careful application of the law to this case, affirming the verdict of the trial court.”
A notice of appeal starts what can be a lengthy process. A Meta spokesperson provided a statement Friday that they also gave when the jury returned the verdict in March, saying that teen mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”
José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said in a statement Friday that YouTube plans to appeal and that “these are standard motions for this case to move forward.”
Meta and Google had each filed post-trial motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict — a routinely filed motion by defense lawyers asking a judge to toss out the jury’s verdict — and for a new trial. The trial judge, Carolyn B. Kuhl, denied those motions in early June.
Tech companies like Meta and YouTube are shielded from legal responsibility for content posted by third parties, based on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. To get around those protections, the plaintiffs focused on the design features of the platforms like “infinite scroll,” or the endless nature of feeds on the platforms, and autoplay functions.
Questions about encroaching into content-related territory were the subject of many objections from the defendants throughout the five-week trial.
The verdict in this case came during a time of legal woes for Meta. A jury in New Mexico returned a verdict finding that Meta’s platforms harm children’s mental health and safety just one day before the California jury reached its decision. The New Mexico jury, siding with state prosecutors who brought the case, landed on a penalty of $375 million. Meta has said the company disagrees with the verdict and will also appeal in that case.
“We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement at the time of the verdicts and again on Friday.
Kaley’s case was a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, and the verdict could influence the outcome of thousands of similar lawsuits accusing social media companies of deliberately causing harm. TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. were also initially named as defendants in the case, but each settled for undisclosed sums before the trial began.
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Israel’s leaders are publicly signaling that their country is prepared to strike Iran for a third time, while a U.S. official tells Fox News Digital that Washington remains closely coordinated with Jerusalem.
“The IDF is on high alert and prepared to resume the campaign, regain air superiority, and carry out an independent Israeli strike against Iran to eliminate threats — even for a third time,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Minister Israel Katz said Thursday at a graduation ceremony for the Israeli Air Force’s newest pilots.
“If we have to return, we will return with even greater force,” Katz added.
ISRAEL DEFENSE CHIEF WARNS STRIKES ON IRAN COULD RESUME SOON, SIGNALS CAMPAIGN NOT OVER
U.S. Central Command shared this footage in a July 8, 2026, press release about strikes against Iran. (CENTCOM)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned Thursday that Israel’s campaign against Iran was not finished and said Tehran would not be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon, regardless of any agreement reached with Washington.
“The war has not yet ended,” Netanyahu said at the air force ceremony. “Alongside the old challenges, new challenges are emerging. Axes are falling, and axes are rising. We are paying attention to this. We are prepared for every scenario.”
Two Israeli sources told CNN Friday that the Trump administration does not currently want Israel to participate in the latest U.S. strikes against Iran.
“Netanyahu would really want to join the U.S. strikes, but the U.S. doesn’t want Israel involved at the moment,” one of the sources told CNN.
A U.S. official denied the report, telling Fox News Digital, “This is fake news. The United States has a strong relationship with Israel, which contributed to the resounding success of Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury. We remain in close coordination with our Israeli partners.”
Israel first launched a major campaign against Iran in June 2025, with the United States later joining the fighting by striking the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities. On Feb. 28, the two allies launched a new, coordinated military campaign against Iran.
While Israeli leaders are openly presenting the military as ready for another campaign, some Israeli officials and analysts say there is little appetite for renewed fighting unless it produces a clear strategic result.
The public warnings may overstate Israel’s desire to reenter the fighting, said Israeli analyst and journalist for Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth, Nadav Eyal.
“On the record, Israel is signaling that it is prepared and even eager to strike Iran. But off the record, sources are saying that it is anything but that,” Eyal told Fox News Digital. “The reason is clear: Any Israeli strike in Iran will lead to Iranian ballistic missile attacks against Israel.”
US CLAWS BACK KEY CONCESSION TO IRAN AFTER FRESH ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, from left, US President Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Trump insisted Egypt and Jordan will take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, dismissing the countries’ refusal to accept people from the war-shattered territory. Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)
Eyal said the domestic political consequences could make Netanyahu reluctant to begin another round of fighting, particularly as Israel approaches another election.
“If these strikes are meant to provide meaningful, strategic change, it is something the prime minister can sell to the public,” Eyal said. “But if the intention is only to use Israel as leverage, why should Israelis again experience a couple of weeks or more of sitting in safe rooms and losing their summer vacations, children’s day camps and summer camps? That could play out badly for the prime minister politically.”
“The truth is that Israel was not really enthusiastic about another strike,” he added. “That doesn’t mean it is not going to happen. If President Trump demands that Netanyahu join, it is very hard to see the Israelis saying no. But right now, I don’t see any passion for it.”
The diplomatic outreach continued even as Trump declared that the ceasefire with Iran was over.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
A source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that Qatari negotiators have traveled to Iran, in coordination with the United States, to meet with Iranian officials in an effort to de-escalate the situation and create the conditions for negotiations to resume.
On Thursday, Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office, which said the two agreed to continue coordinating across several regional fronts. Trump briefed Netanyahu on American operations in the Gulf, the statement said.
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A satellite image shows damage at the control tower in the port of Chabahar, Iran, July 9, 2026, after the U.S. military said July 8, 2026, it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. ( 2026 PLANET LABS PBC/Handout via Reuters)
The military warnings came as the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Israel had provided the United States with intelligence about what is described as a fresh Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.
The developments follow renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. naval officials said the maritime threat remained “severe.” U.S. Naval Forces Central Command reminded commercial vessels Friday that an expanded southern route through the strait remained open and that no controlling authority could require ships to pay a fee for passage.
A U.S. official told Fox News on background that Iran’s attacks against commercial vessels were “acts of terrorism” and constituted failed performance under the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.
“The United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue,” the official said. “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”
Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer who now heads the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said Israel had never regarded the memorandum as an adequate guarantee.
“From Israel’s perspective, the MOU was never a good deal,” Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital, speaking of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran.
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CENTCOM shared footage of strikes against airplanes amid Iran war (U.S. Central Command on X)
“Israel should be on high alert, ready to face an Iranian attack and prepared to strike back if necessary,” he added.
For now, Israel’s leaders appear to be leaving Iran — and Washington — with little doubt that they are prepared to act. Whether the United States allows Israel to join the renewed campaign, however, could determine whether the latest confrontation remains limited or develops into another full-scale regional war.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Published on •Updated
Belgium’s three regions announced on Friday that they would introduce a road tax next year that foreign drivers transiting the country would also have to pay.
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The country does not currently charge drivers to use its highways and the issue of introducing some form of payment has been debated for years.
“Everyone who uses our roads must contribute fairly to their maintenance,” said the transport minister for the southern Wallonia region, François Desquesnes.
Starting on 1 May 2027 drivers will need to register their vehicle and pay the road tax, with day passes available for drivers driving across the country.
An annual pass for a zero-emission car will cost €90 and up to €125 for higher polluting vehicles.
Road cameras that catch cars that haven’t paid for a pass will incur a fine of €70.
In Belgium, the individual regions are responsible for maintaining roads and motorways.
Currently, drivers can use almost all highways toll-free but the possibility of an introducing a charge has been under discussion for several years.
The revenue would be used for the operation and maintenance of the road network.
The proposed toll still needs final approval from the regions and European authorities.
According to the chairman of the liberal-conservative MR party, the government intends to offset the new toll by lowering other taxes for Belgians.
Additional sources • AFP
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