California High-Speed Rail Inspector General: $680,500 in Consultant Travel Lacked Advance Approval; Unallowable Charges Included Gyms, a Nightclub and Cigar Lounges
On September 15, 2026, the Office of the Inspector General for California high-speed rail released investigation report No. 2026-INV-08, substantiating allegations that the California High-Speed Rail Authority failed to comply with state regulations and contract requirements when reimbursing travel expenses for four consulting firms: about 60 percent of the travel payments reviewed, totaling $680,500, had not been approved before the travel occurred, and investigators identified $81,000 in expenses unallowable under state travel regulations and $543,400 not allowable under the firms' contracts, including premium airfares, a private jet flight, and trips to gyms, an escape room, a nightclub and cigar lounges.
In fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26, the Authority paid more than $2 million in travel-related costs for consultants at the four firms; the investigation covered roughly half of those expenditures, about $1.15 million. The firms are KPMG, the law firm Nossaman LLP, the AECOM-Fluor Joint Venture and the SYSTRA/TYPSA Joint Venture, providing financial advisory, legal, program delivery support and track and systems design services.
State regulations require the Authority to evaluate the business need for consultants to travel before approving it. For about 60 percent of the payments reviewed, or $680,500, "the Authority had not approved the travel before it occurred, indicating there was little to no upfront consideration of the need for or cost of the travel," the report said.
The unallowable expenses fell into two groups. The first, $81,000, violated state travel regulations and included flight and rideshare upgrades and trips to questionable destinations, including gyms, an escape room and a nightclub, for which the Authority lacked documentation establishing a state business purpose. The second, $543,400, was not allowable under the terms of the respective contracts, including international and out-of-state travel expenses.
Examples cited in the report include a consultant who flew his private jet from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento and was reimbursed at a premium airfare rate; about $130,000 paid for 30 trips between Denver and Sacramento by one individual, for whom investigators found only five travel requests; about $118,000 in international travel that was not allowed; and a legal consultant paid $40,800 in travel reimbursements plus $86,500 in "travel time" for 30 trips between Denver and Sacramento in a year.
"Paying for travel when it is not necessary or when it exceeds what is allowed by state regulations or the contract terms is waste of public funds and is behavior inconsistent with the Authority's role as the steward of public resources," the report said. Investigators also found that some trips were arranged at the request of the Authority's top executives, and that agency staff failed to sufficiently vet reimbursement requests before approving them.
The inspector general recommended corrective actions including enforcing state rules on allowable travel expenses, obtaining written advance approvals from management, maintaining a list of approved office locations, and requiring specific reasons why remote technology does not suffice. An Authority spokesperson said the agency "takes these findings seriously" and will take corrective action, but the Authority committed to implementing only some of the recommendations and disagreed with the need for detailed justifications for each consultant trip.
The Office of the Inspector General, High-Speed Rail, operates independently of the Authority under the Public Utilities Code. Inspector General Benjamin Belnap, appointed by Governor Newsom in September 2023, is the office's first inspector general.
Source: Office of the Inspector General, High-Speed Rail, Investigation Report No. 2026-INV-08 (September 15, 2026).
Source: 加州高铁监察长办公室第2026-INV-08号调查报告
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：中央谷地圣华金河高架桥（加州高速铁路局图）。The San Joaquin River Viaduct in the Central Valley. (California High-Speed Rail Authority)
