New York Physical Therapist Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Role in $11 Million Scheme to Defraud the Amtrak Health Care Plan

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

Jaekwan Lee, 42, of Flushing, New York, pleaded guilty on May 12, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Lee was sentenced today to 15 months' imprisonment, two years' supervised release, and ordered to pay $841,666 in restitution.

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

From January 2022 through June 2022, Lee and his 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. Lee, a licensed physical therapist, allowed his 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 overall scheme targeting the Amtrak health care plan 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 $841,666 for claims associated with Lee. The investigation has resulted in the prosecution of nineteen individuals, including Lee. 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, and the Amtrak Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police James Cook, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano, Deputy Chief of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit in Newark.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports 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.

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Defense counsel: Patrick J. McIlwain, Esq., Megan Rha, Esq.