NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C.  20554
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
For Immediate Release:                                                   News Media Contact:
November 19, 2009                                                         Jen Howard, (202) 418-0506
FCC CHIEF OF STAFF PRAISES DECISIVE ACTION TO 
PROSECUTE FRAUD IN VRS PROGRAM
WASHINGTON – Twenty-six people were charged today with engaging in a scheme to steal 
more than $50 million from the Video Relay Service (VRS) program. 
VRS is an online translation service that allows people with hearing disabilities to communicate 
through the use of interpreters and Web cameras, at no cost to the user. The VRS program 
reimburses companies that provide this service, and is funded by fees assessed by 
telecommunications providers to telephone customers. 
The arrests were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Department 
of Justice’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Joseph 
Persichini, Jr., Deputy Chief Postal Inspector Zane Hill, and FCC Chief of Staff Edward 
Lazarus, at a press conference Thursday.  
Prepared Remarks of Edward Lazarus, FCC Chief of Staff:
“I would like to thank the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the 
United States Postal Service for their help and cooperation in this investigation into waste, fraud, 
and abuse in the Video Relay Service program. I also want to pay tribute to the extraordinary 
efforts of the FCC’s acting Inspector General David Hunt and his team. This is, to my 
knowledge, the largest investigation that the FCC’s Inspector General’s Office has ever 
undertaken, and we could not have effectively pursued the indictments unsealed today without a 
terrific collaboration across many agencies.
“Today’s events represent both a tragedy and an opportunity. The tragedy is the unfortunate truth 
that a significant number of unscrupulous individuals, at great cost to the nation, have preyed on 
a very important program for delivering essential telecommunications services to persons with 
hearing disabilities. The opportunity is the chance to reiterate our commitment to the VRS 
program and to follow through on efforts, already begun at the FCC, both to safeguard the 
program against further waste, fraud, and abuse and to improve its delivery of VRS services to 
consumers.  
“With respect to our unwavering commitment to preventing future waste, fraud, and abuse, I am 
pleased to report that over the past year, the FCC has substantially tightened its oversight of the 
VRS program, working with the current outside administrator of the program to increase the 
scrutiny on call records and identify and act upon irregularities. As a result of this greater 
oversight, the FCC has withheld payment on nearly 2 million minutes of questionable VRS calls 
-- an action that will save many millions of dollars.  
“The FCC has also initiated and is in the final stages of completing a competitive process for 
selecting its next TRS Fund Administrator.  The new Administrator will operate under much 
stricter control, including a new auditing regime, to guard against the kind of waste, fraud, and 
abuse that previously plagued the program.  Moreover, to facilitate the early detection and 
punishment of wrongdoers, our Inspector General Office operates a telephone hotline for 
reporting fraud.  And, finally, now that today’s indictments have become public, the FCC will be 
moving forward expeditiously with a comprehensive review of the VRS program to ensure that 
its underlying structure fosters the efficient, effective, and lawful provision of VRS.    
“A central mission of the Federal Communications Commission is to make telecommunications 
available to all Americans, including persons with disabilities.  We appreciate how critical VRS 
has become to fulfilling this mission and we are committed to maintaining and improving the 
VRS program.  I would also emphasize that nothing we do today, or in this investigation, will 
prevent the processing of legitimate VRS calls.   Moving forward, our goal will be simple: to 
ensure that the VRS program is one that the American people can be proud of, and that the deaf 
community can rely on.”       
--FCC--