New Jersey Physical Therapist Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Health Care Fraud Scheme Targeting Amtrak

NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey physical therapist was sentenced today for her role in a health care fraud scheme targeting Amtrak's health care plan, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Taejin Kim, 44, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on June 11, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Kim was sentenced today to 12 months plus one day of imprisonment, two years' supervised release, and ordered to pay over $2.2 million in restitution.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2019 through June 2022, Kim and her co-conspirators agreed to engage in a scheme to bill the Amtrak health care plan for fraudulent claims for services that never were provided and were medically unnecessary. Kim, a licensed physical therapist, allowed her license and business bank accounts to be used in the fraudulent billing scheme, in return for a portion of the proceeds. Other members of the conspiracy recruited Amtrak employees to participate in the scheme by paying them cash, in return for allowing the conspirators to use their personal and insurance information to submit false and fraudulent claims.

The conspiracy involved dozens of Amtrak employees and multiple health care providers, who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks to Amtrak employees over the course of the scheme. In total, the Amtrak health care plan paid over $11 million in fraudulent claims associated with providers connected to the scheme. The Amtrak health care plan paid out approximately $2,253,453 for claims associated with Kim. The investigation has resulted in the prosecution of nineteen individuals, including Kim. All have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Harper, the Amtrak Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief of Police James Cook, and special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III in New York, with the investigation.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano, Co-Chief of the General Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O'Leary of the Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit.

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Defense counsel: Alyssa Cimino, Esq.