加州高铁监察长报告：68.05万美元顾问差旅未获事先批准，不合规支出含健身房、夜总会与雪茄吧
2026年9月15日，加州高铁监察长办公室发布第2026-INV-08号调查报告，认定加州高速铁路局在为四家顾问公司报销差旅费用时违反州规与合同条款的指控成立：监察长抽查的差旅款中约六成、合计68.05万美元在出行前未经批准，另查出8.1万美元违反州差旅规定的不合规支出与54.34万美元违反合同条款的支出，报销内容包括高级舱位机票、私人飞机，以及前往健身房、密室逃脱、夜总会与雪茄吧等场所的消费。
报告显示，2024-25与2025-26两个财年，管理局共为四家顾问公司支付了逾200万美元差旅相关费用；监察长调查覆盖其中约一半、约115万美元。四家公司是毕马威（KPMG）、Nossaman 律师事务所、AECOM-Fluor 合资公司与 SYSTRA/TYPSA 合资公司，分别承担财务顾问、法律服务、项目交付支持与轨道系统设计等工作。
加州法规要求管理局在批准顾问出行前评估其业务必要性。报告称，被抽查的款项约60%、即68.05万美元在出行发生前根本没有获得批准，「表明事前几乎没有考虑出行的必要性与成本」。
不合规支出分两类。其一，8.1万美元违反加州差旅规定，包括机票与网约车升舱费用，以及前往健身房、密室逃脱、夜总会等缺乏公务目的证明的行程。其二，54.34万美元违反各自的合同条款，包括合同不允许的国际与州外出行。
报告列举的事例包括：一名顾问驾驶私人飞机从华盛顿特区前往萨克拉门托，按高级舱位机票价格获得报销；一名顾问一年内30次往返丹佛与萨克拉门托、报销约13万美元，调查人员只找到其中5次的出行申请；约11.8万美元为合同不允许的国际差旅；一名法律顾问30次出行报销差旅费4.08万美元，另领取「差旅时间」费用8.65万美元。
报告写道：「为不必要的出行付费，或为超出州规与合同条款允许范围的出行付费，是对公共资金的浪费，也与管理局作为公共资源管理者的角色不符。」调查还发现，部分行程是应管理局高层的要求安排的，管理局工作人员在报销审批环节核查不足。
监察长办公室提出多项整改建议，包括严格执行州差旅规定的可报销标准、由管理层事前书面批准、维护一份获准办公地点清单，并要求具体说明为何不能以远程方式完成工作。管理局发言人表示，管理局「严肃对待这些调查结论」并将采取纠正措施；但管理局只承诺落实部分建议，对逐次出行详细说明理由等要求持不同意见。
加州高铁监察长办公室依《公用事业法》设立，独立于管理局运作；监察长 Benjamin Belnap 于2023年9月由州长纽森任命，是该办公室首任监察长。
关联：加州高铁董事会收回首席执行官合同签署权：2500万美元以下合同须经内部律师审核
关联：加州高铁管理局首席执行官辞职：Choudri 递交辞职信，财政厅长 Stephenshaw 任临时首席执行官
关联：加州高铁监察长审查2026年商业计划：成本估算不可比，资金最快2027年12月耗尽
关联：加州「烂尾账本」走红华人社群：高铁、911、无家可归者拨款，逐项对照官方记录
关联：中美基建类比：高铁、大桥、调水三组同类项目，花销、工期、质量对照
来源：加州高铁监察长办公室第2026-INV-08号调查报告（2026年9月15日）。
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).
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：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)
