Stephen Kromer Pleads Not Guilty to 16 Felony Counts Over $7.8 Million Broadband Grant Theft
Updated
Updated · KOLO · Jul 10
Stephen Kromer Pleads Not Guilty to 16 Felony Counts Over $7.8 Million Broadband Grant Theft
1 articles · Updated · KOLO · Jul 10
Summary
A federal grand jury arraigned Stephen A. Kromer on 16 felony counts tied to an alleged $7.8 million embezzlement from a USDA-funded rural broadband project near Lovelock; he pleaded not guilty.
The indictment says Kromer made 32 wire transfers from a restricted project account between May and November 2024, routed the money to his personal account, and used false accounting entries and submissions to the USDA to disguise the withdrawals.
Prosecutors also allege he moved $6.2 million into cryptocurrency exchanges, underpinning five money-laundering counts and five counts involving transactions in criminally derived property.
The June 2023 ReConnect award gave Uprise $27 million for a $36 million project, with the company required to place its own $9 million share in a pledged deposit account limited to project costs.
Kromer's federal trial is set for Sept. 14 in Las Vegas, while Nevada is separately suing him and the Nevada Department of Transportation over the same 2024 Lovelock broadband project; if convicted, he faces decades in prison.