{"id":465323,"date":"2026-09-16T06:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T06:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465323\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T06:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T06:50:15","slug":"california-high-speed-rail-consultants-billed-taxpayers-for-first-class-flights-gym-trips-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465323\/","title":{"rendered":"California high-speed rail consultants billed taxpayers for first-class flights, gym trips and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

California’s High-Speed Rail Authority<\/a> paid nearly $600,000 to consultants for travel expenses that violated state rules or contract terms, including premium flights and rides to gyms, a nightclub, an escape room and other destinations with no documented business purpose, according to a state watchdog report<\/a> released Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Office of the Inspector General said it substantiated allegations that the rail authority failed to properly approve and review travel expenses billed by four consulting firms.<\/p>\n

The authority paid more than $2 million in travel costs for the firms during fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26. The inspector general reviewed about $1.15 million of those expenses and found that $680,500 – roughly 60% – had no documented approval before the travel occurred, as state law requires.<\/p>\n

The four firms were KPMG, Nossaman LLP, AECOM-Fluor and SYSTRA\/TYPSA.<\/p>\n

The findings come as the authority struggles to deliver its first segment in the Central Valley and gradually expand the line with a new financing strategy that requires leveraging $1 billion a year from the state to court private capital. Last year, the Trump administration<\/a> yanked $4 billion in federal funds from the project.<\/p>\n

Republican legislators in California pounced on the newly released Inspector General findings, saying they exemplified what state Assembly Minority Leader Alexandra Maceo, R-Tulare, called “a culture of waste” that had become a burden for taxpayers.<\/p>\n

“With his remaining time in office, Gov. (Gavin) Newsom should make taxpayers whole and claw back every dollar,” Maceo said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Authority Board Chair Steve Kawa did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Another board director, Martha Escutia, declined to comment.<\/p>\n

High-speed rail consultants charged California for premium flights and rides\"Renderings<\/p>\n

Renderings of the California High-Speed Rail Project’s four Central Valley Stations in Merced, Fresno, Tulare County and Bakersfield. (California High-Speed Rail Authority)<\/p>\n

One consultant, according to the report, repeatedly billed premium Uber rides to Planet Fitness gyms around Sacramento and later billed rides to and from a restaurant, bar and nightclub.<\/p>\n

The inspector general found rides to an escape room, a tiki bar, a sushi restaurant in Denver, restaurants in Folsom and a cigar lounge in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

“These trips clearly appear to be for personal enjoyment rather than for the benefit of the State,” the Office of the Inspector General said.<\/p>\n

The watchdog agency also found the authority routinely paid for upgraded transportation. None were by rail.<\/p>\n

In one case, a consultant was reimbursed nearly $40 for a short luxury Uber ride in downtown Sacramento. Another consultant used upgraded Uber rides from his home to the airport, from the airport to the authority’s office and then to a steakhouse in Folsom more than 25 miles away.<\/p>\n

The rail authority also paid for first-class and other premium airfare without documentation explaining why the more expensive tickets were necessary, including a first-class ticket from Los Angeles to Sacramento. In another example, a consultant flew a private plane from Washington, D.C., to California and then sought reimbursement based on the cost of a premium commercial flight instead, the watchdog agency found.<\/p>\n

The authority paid the premium fare even though investigators found no record that the private flight had been approved in advance or that the premium fare was the appropriate amount to reimburse.<\/p>\n

Rail authority’s travel approval system failed, watchdog says\"High-Speed<\/p>\n

High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri, right, speaks during a news conference accompanied by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, at the California High-Speed Rail Authority 150-acre Southern Railhead site in Wasco, Calif., Feb.3, 2026. A state watchdog says California’s High-Speed Rail Authority improperly reimbursed nearly $600,000 in consultant travel expenses, including premium flights and rides to gyms, a nightclub, an escape room and other destinations. (Damian Dovarganes\/AP)<\/p>\n

The inspector general said the unusual expenses were part of a broader breakdown in the authority’s travel budget.<\/p>\n

State rules require agencies to make sure travel is necessary and cost-effective. Since October 2024, agencies have been required to consider whether work could be done remotely before approving travel. The contracts reviewed by the watchdog required consultants to get written approval in advance.<\/p>\n

But the report found that contract managers often did not have meaningful control over the travel.<\/p>\n

For three of the four contracts, investigators said managers operated under the assumption that the rail authority’s CEO or another executive wanted the travel to happen.<\/p>\n

That meant consultants sometimes traveled first and sought reimbursement later. In some cases, the authority did not know about the trips until the invoices arrived.<\/p>\n

The report said travel requests often contained vague explanations such as “project management,” “typical trip” and “attend HSR Board meeting.” In other cases, consultants said they needed to be in Sacramento for meetings with executives without explaining why those meetings could not be held remotely.<\/p>\n

One legal consultant made more than 30 trips between Denver and Sacramento in about a year. The authority paid $40,800 in travel expenses and another $86,500 in travel time under the terms of the contract.<\/p>\n

When the consultant was asked to explain why he needed to be there in person, he said the authority’s CEO had requested his presence and that it was not appropriate for him to question the CEO’s direction, “as other consultants in other Authority offices are learning the hard way.”<\/p>\n

The inspector general said a request from the CEO did not override the travel requirements in the contract.<\/p>\n

Consultants’ travel violated high-speed rail contracts\"The<\/p>\n

The Herndon Viaduct of the California High-Speed Rail project is seen above the Union Pacific railroad tracks next to CA-99 in Fresno, Calif., on June 25, 2026. (Dan Hernandez\/S.F. Chronicle)<\/p>\n

The watchdog found problems beyond individual rides and flights.<\/p>\n

The contract for the company handling track and systems design specifically prohibited international travel. Yet the authority paid more than $118,000 in travel-related costs involving people traveling from other countries, the report said.<\/p>\n

The same contract required certain key personnel to be based in Sacramento. Even so, the authority paid more than $76,000 for out-of-state trips to Sacramento by those employees.<\/p>\n

Across the four contracts, the inspector general identified $81,000 in expenses that appeared to violate state travel rules and another $543,400 that violated contract terms. Some expenses fell into both categories.<\/p>\n

The authority said it will tighten its travel rules and seek reimbursement for expenses that should not have been paid.<\/p>\n

“In response, the Authority will strengthen internal controls around consultant travel, implement more rigorous documentation and approval requirements, and recover any improper costs identified,” spokesperson Matt Rocco said in a statement. “We are also working closely with the OIG to ensure corrective action that is both accurate and fair.”<\/p>\n

The authority said some of the recommended changes would be completed by March 2027. The inspector general plans to review the agency’s progress after that.<\/p>\n

The investigation comes as the rail authority pushes ahead with construction of its first operating segment<\/a> between Merced and Bakersfield, since California voters first approved the rail system in 2008. The authority’s 2026 business plan says it expects to begin laying track this year and start passenger service on the segment in 2033.<\/p>\n

The watchdog cautioned that its investigation was not a full audit of every travel expense. It reviewed selected claims and documented the problems it found.<\/p>\n

“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,” the report said.<\/p>\n

Subscribe<\/p>\n

There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25\u00a2.<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally published at California high-speed rail consultants billed taxpayers for first-class flights, gym trips and more<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California’s High-Speed Rail Authority paid nearly $600,000 to consultants for travel expenses that violated state rules or contract…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2969,7,9,52317,8,183234,34571,121,183233,171160,183232],"class_list":["post-465323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-calif","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-high-speed-rail","tag-california-news","tag-contract-terms","tag-rail-authority","tag-sacramento","tag-state-watchdog","tag-the-authority","tag-travel-expenses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}