Amtrak OIG Investigation Leads to $7.2 million Civil Resolution in 30th Street Station Bribery Scheme

Amtrak

PHILADELPHIA — Mark 1 Restoration Company and its owner, Mark Snedden, agreed to a $7.2 million resolution of civil claims after an Amtrak Office of Inspector General investigation revealed Mark 1 paid bribes to an Amtrak employee for internal project information and expensive contract modifications on Amtrak’s 30th Street Station façade project. 

As part of the civil resolution, Mark 1 and Snedden agreed to make a payment of $2,400,000 and to release Amtrak from any claim to $4,857,232.12 in additional funds that Amtrak retained or otherwise did not pay to Mark 1 after learning of the kickback scheme, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“When contractors and insiders manipulate the procurement process through bribes and overbilling, taxpayers ultimately pay the price,” said James Harper, Special Agent in Charge of Amtrak OIG’s Eastern Field Office. “This case resolution reflects the close collaboration among our office, the FBI, the Department of Transportation OIG, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our shared commitment to protecting Amtrak’s resources and taxpayer dollars by holding wrongdoers accountable.”

According to court documents, executives at the firm, including Snedden, bribed a former Amtrak project manager with approximately $323,686 worth of paid vacations, jewelry, cash, dinners, entertainment, transportation, and other items. In exchange, the former project manager approved over $52 million in additional change orders and contract modifications and provided Mark 1 and its executives with internal information about the project. As a result, Amtrak was overbilled by approximately $2 million for the repair and restoration work.

In total, four Mark 1 executives were previously sentenced for taking part in the scheme: 

• Khaled Dallo, a vice president with Mark 1, was sentenced November 21, 2025, to two months in prison, one year of probation, 120 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.
• Mark Snedden, Mark 1’s president and owner, was sentenced October 1, 2025, to 90 months in prison, one year of probation, and a $250,000 fine. 
• Lee Maniatis, the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, was sentenced October 24, 2025, to 18 months in prison and three years of probation.
• Donald Seefeldt, the firm’s senior executive vice president, was sentenced June 3, 2025, to 57 months in prison, one year of probation, 59 hours of community service, and was fined $50,000.

All four of the firm’s executives were also ordered to pay more than $2 million in joint restitution. The Federal Railroad Administration also suspended the four men and Mark 1 from participating in all federally funded procurement and non-procurement activities.

In addition to Amtrak OIG, the case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Transportation OIG. The civil matter was handled in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Carr and Landon Y. Jones, with assistance from litigative consultant Denis Cooke.

Reports of fraud, waste, or abuse; criminal or unethical acts affecting Amtrak’s property or operations; or mismanagement in Amtrak programs or operations can be made 24 hours a day via the Amtrak OIG Hotline at 1-800-468-5469 or online at https://direc.to/hPAu.