Carr Statement on Yet Another Inspector General Report of Fraud in the FCC’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Broadband Funding Initiative  

WASHINGTON, DC, September 9, 2022—Commissioner Carr issued the following statement in response to yet another new report by the FCC’s Inspector General regarding fraud in the agency’s multi-billion-dollar broadband funding initiative.  The latest Inspector General report focuses on the FCC’s $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”), which is designed to help qualifying low-income households afford a broadband connection and was funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”).  The FCC’s Inspector General previously released a fraud report on the FCC’s predecessor program, known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which Carr addressed here.

“For nearly two years now, I have been sounding the alarm on the potential for massive levels of fraud in the federal government’s broadband funding programs.  And I have been pushing for additional oversight and safeguards to ensure that we not only prevent bad actors from illegally lining their pockets with federal dollars but that these funds reach the families that Congress intended to benefit.  I have not been alone in expressing concern.  Last year, the FCC’s Inspector General uncovered an outrageous scheme in which broadband providers or sales agents appeared to be defrauding the program on a near nationwide scale.  At the time, I expressed my concern that the fraud uncovered by the Inspector General represented just the tip of the iceberg.  That is why I continued to push for more safeguards.

“Now, the Inspector General has issued yet another report that details a new wave of outrageous abuse of the FCC’s broadband funding program.  In just one egregious example, the Inspector General’s analysis shows that one or more actors signed up more than 1,000 households for free or discounted Internet service by using the identity of the same four-year-old child.

“Whatever we are doing to deter this type of fraud is not working.  More action is needed to safeguard these federal dollars and ensure that they deliver on the goals Congress has set out.”

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Office of Commissioner Brendan Carr
www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/brendan-carr
Media Contact:  Greg Watson
(202) 418-0658 or greg.watson@fcc.gov