Amtrak Employee Admits Participating In $11 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. – An Amtrak employee today admitted participating in a health care fraud scheme to defraud Amtrak, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.

Anthony Saloka, 44, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

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

From January 2019 through June 2022, Saloka and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to obtain cash kickbacks from health care providers in return for allowing the providers to use their personal and health insurance information to submit fraudulent claims for services that were either never provided or which were medically unnecessary. Saloka received thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks from health care providers in return for his participation in the scheme, including from Punson Figueroa, an acupuncturist, and Michael DeNicola, a podiatrist. Figueroa previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced on September 24, 2024 to 34 months in prison. DeNicola previously pleaded guilty on June 29, 2022 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, among other offenses. His sentencing remains pending.

In total, the Amtrak health care plan paid over $11 million as a result of fraudulent claims associated with providers connected to the health care fraud scheme.

The health care fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for June 4, 2025.

Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Waters, the Amtrak Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Samuel Dotson, 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 leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica R. Ecker and Katherine M. Romano of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Vincent LaPaglia, Esq.

Updated February 11, 2025

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