The CEO of the Florida telecommunications company sentenced to $ 110 million to the government to 5 years for stolen $ 110 million
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The owner of a Florida telecommunications company was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty of having stolen the federal program once nicknamed “Phone Obama” which provides low -cost telephone services to low -income customers.
Q Link Wireless LLC and his 51 -year -old CEO, Issa Asad, both pleaded guilty last year for a conspiracy in order to commit fraud by wire and steal the government’s money on the Lifeline program, the Ministry of Justice announced. The program, started in 1985 and extended under Obama, provides subsidized wireless services to the poor. He was strongly criticized in the 2012 elections, when a viral video emerged with a woman in Cleveland saying that she and all her friends received “Obama phones”. Some telecommunications companies with Lifeline contracts have adopted the term, although the government has not done so.
ASAD was sentenced to five years in prison and he and the company were ordered to pay financial sanctions and a restitution totaling more than $ 128 million, according to the agency.
In addition, ASAD pleaded guilty to laundering a government loan program intended to support companies in difficulty during the Pandemic COVID-19.
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Q Link Wireless LLC PDG Issa Asad and his company pleaded guilty last year for conspiracy to defraud the American government program. (Photo illustration by Pavlo Gonchar / Sopa Images / Lightrocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Under the advocacy agreements, ASAD and Q Link agreed to pay nearly $ 110 million on return at the Federal Communications Commission. ASAD also paid a criminal sanction of nearly $ 17.5 million for income received from the Q Link telephone services.
It was one of the greatest financial sanctions in the history of the FCC, according to the DoJ.
ASAD also paid more than $ 1.7 million in restitution to Small Business Administration for Loan Looking Loans that his company received from the PAY Chelle Protection Program (PPP) during the pandemic.
The DoJ said that he had admitted to having used PPP money for the construction of his home, a Land Rover payment, his personal American Express card, property taxes, jewelry and donations to a university.
It was one of the largest financial sanctions in the History of the FCC. (Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
ASAD and Q Link admitted to a program to defraud the LIFELINE program of the FCC, which offers significant reductions on certain monthly cellular telephony services to low -income customers.
The program involving ASAD took place between 2012 and 2021 when Asad and Q Link provided false information on their Lifeline customers and made false repeated complaints for the government’s reimbursement. They also admitted the conservation of the funds of the lifeline that they were not allowed to receive and deceive the FCC on the compliance of the company in the rules of the program.
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Issa Asad and Q Link admitted that they intentionally conspired to defraud the FCC program between 2012 and 2021. (Photos Reuters / Andrew Kelly / Reuters)
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ASAD has criminal history and was accused of murder in 2014 as part of the driving of a field guard in his business after a dispute on the payment of $ 65 for lawn services, according to Miami Herald.
He then argued any competition with a guilty negligence for offense and was slapped with a year of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $ 225.
