Regulators were instructed not to disclose a massive fraud investigation into subsidized cellphones, dubbed Obamaphones by critics, until a day after a controversial vote to expand the program, says one of the regulators, Ajit Pai, a Republican who is now chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. An FCC spokesman insisted that the timing was completely coincidental.
From the Washington Free Beacon:
"Commissioners were told that the Notice of Apparent Liability could not be released or publicly discussed until April 1, 2016, conveniently one day after the Commission was scheduled to expand the Lifeline program to broadband," Pai wrote. "That's not right." Pai did not say who issued that directive. However, it had the effect of preventing public knowledge of widespread fraud in the Lifeline program ahead of a contentious vote on expanding it despite persisting concerns about a lack of internal safeguards. ... The FCC ... last week accused cell phone provider Total Call Mobile, which provides Lifeline services in 19 states, of "systematic and egregious misconduct" and "widespread enrollment fraud." According to the commission, Total Call employees enrolled tens of thousands of duplicate Lifeline beneficiaries and pocketed the extra subsidies. The FCC caught onto the scheme when the company enrolled an undercover FCC investigator in the program without asking for any eligibility documentation.
Read Full Article »
