In June 2022, an Essex County doctor named Muhammad Mirza was sentenced to 26 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme that resulted in Amtrak losing over $1.3 million. Mirza and his co-conspirators submitted false claims for unnecessary medical services between April 2017 and June 2022, using the health insurance information of Amtrak employees who were paid to participate in the scheme.

Mirza operated medical offices in several states, including New Jersey and New York. He is one of six people who have been charged with conspiring to defraud Amtrak’s employee health care plan. Prosecutors allege that these services were either never provided or were medically unnecessary, leading to significant financial losses for the company.

In addition to his prison sentence, Mirza was ordered to pay $1.37 million in restitution and serve two years of supervised release. An attorney for Mirza did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sentence. An Amtrak spokesperson referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Amtrak has taken steps to prevent similar fraud schemes from occurring in the future by implementing stricter oversight measures and increasing its collaboration with law enforcement agencies. Support our journalism by subscribing today to NJ.com and stay informed about important events happening around you.