Dish Wireless agrees $17.3m settlement over FCC fraud claims

7 articles · Updated · MarketWatch · May 6

The Justice Department said Boost Mobile and its employees enrolled more than 130,000 ineligible subscribers in two FCC broadband subsidy programmes between May 2021 and February 2022.
Prosecutors alleged Dish relied on free school meals participation, directed third-party agents to file inaccurate applications and kept receiving monthly payments after executives learned of problems.
The settlement also resolves a related FCC administrative order. EchoStar denied wrongdoing, saying it acted in good faith in the EBB and Affordable Connectivity programs, which received $17.2bn from 2021 to 2024.

After a $17M fraud settlement, what replaces the internet subsidies millions of families have now lost?

With a new anti-fraud task force, can the government stop the next billion-dollar benefit program scam before it begins?