NEWARK — A Middlesex County man formerly employed as an Amtrak supervisor admitted Wednesday to having billed the government-subsidized railroad more than 700 hours he didn’t work.
Richard Vogel, 64, of Edison, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark to a charge of converting government funds to his own use, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.
Vogel, who worked for Amtrak for more than 39 years, admitted billing 41 regular hours and 685.75 overtime hours for time he didn’t actually work between November 2015 and June 2016, the month before he retired.
Prosecutors say the fraud cost Amtrak $71,946.
Vogel faces a maximum of a year in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss of the offense, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His sentencing has been scheduled for May 22.
Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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