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FCC plans $51 million fine over Lifeline program abuse
WMUR ^ | April 8, 2016 | Charles Riley

Posted on 04/08/2016 9:15:51 AM PDT by kevcol

The Federal Communications Commission has announced plans to fine a mobile provider $51 million for defrauding its Lifeline program, which subsidizes wireless service for low-income Americans.

The FCC accused California-based Total Call Mobile of fraudulently enrolling tens of thousands of duplicate and ineligible consumers in the Lifeline program.

The company received an estimated $9.7 million dollars in improper payments since 2014, according to the FCC. In the fourth quarter of that year, 99.8% of the company's enrollments allegedly involved overriding a system designed to stop the registration of duplicate customers.

(Excerpt) Read more at wmur.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: ebt; fcc; fraud; govtabuse; lifeline; obamaphone; totalcallmobile; welfare
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Total Call Mobile "store" in Detroit:



1 posted on 04/08/2016 9:15:51 AM PDT by kevcol
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To: kevcol

Keep Obama in president, you know! He gave us a phone.


2 posted on 04/08/2016 9:23:05 AM PDT by Organic Panic
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To: kevcol

Fraud? In a government giveaway program? How unexpected. </s


3 posted on 04/08/2016 9:35:28 AM PDT by ken in texas
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To: kevcol

Why is it that, in all these Welfare fraud cases, the freeloaders who actually commit the fraud and get two cell phones or extra benefits never get prosecuted? That’s what needs to happen.


4 posted on 04/08/2016 9:41:30 AM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

Exactly so! There are records! They should have to pay back every damn penny!..................PLUS INTEREST!.....................AND A FINE!..........................


5 posted on 04/08/2016 10:09:05 AM PDT by Red Badger (The Left doesn't like him and the Right doesn't like him, so he must be the right guy for the job...)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
and get two cell phones

One woman had SIX of these damn things!......................

6 posted on 04/08/2016 10:10:04 AM PDT by Red Badger (The Left doesn't like him and the Right doesn't like him, so he must be the right guy for the job...)
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To: Organic Panic

None of my congressional representatives have been able to explain what happens with all of the money from these fines.
There is apparently no congressional oversight of the use of these funds.


7 posted on 04/08/2016 10:14:32 AM PDT by beekay
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To: kevcol

99.8% is an unbelievable level of fraud. I don’t believe it. Even the lady in Cleveland only had 30 phones.


8 posted on 04/08/2016 10:21:24 AM PDT by nicepaco
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To: kevcol

I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!


9 posted on 04/08/2016 10:37:50 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: nicepaco

Give ‘em a phone, they take a case...


10 posted on 04/08/2016 10:39:16 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: beekay

The fines aren’t even enough to pay for one of Moochelle’s vacations.


11 posted on 04/08/2016 11:26:51 AM PDT by Organic Panic
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To: ken in texas

>Fraud? In a government giveaway program? How unexpected

Correct: In a govt WELFARE program.

Giving away that which isn’t theirs to begin, let alone have no authority nor right


12 posted on 04/08/2016 11:28:44 AM PDT by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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To: Red Badger

>Exactly so! There are records! They should have to pay back every damn penny!..................PLUS INTEREST!.....................AND A FINE!..........................

Come on, it’s ONLY taxpayer $$. They’re ‘entitled’

Because...??...RACIST!


13 posted on 04/08/2016 11:59:10 AM PDT by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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To: i_robot73

Reparations by fiat........................


14 posted on 04/08/2016 12:09:01 PM PDT by Red Badger (The Left doesn't like him and the Right doesn't like him, so he must be the right guy for the job...)
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To: Red Badger

>Reparations by fiat

Illegal/unconstitutional, by any other name, is still...

But, yes, concur. Haven’t we paid for those years the U.S. (IE: post 1776)?? Still waiting for Africa and the Muslim nations to pony up...and the Swedes, and the Native Americans and the ....


15 posted on 04/08/2016 12:12:17 PM PDT by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

I worked for our welfare dept in the food stamp program for years. It was rare that a fraud case went to trial but when it did and they were found guilty they didn’t cut off their food stamps. I guess that would be mean. They put them on a ‘payment schedule’ that was held out of their food stamp allotment. Lol


16 posted on 04/08/2016 12:44:42 PM PDT by sheana
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To: i_robot73

Arabs........................


17 posted on 04/08/2016 12:53:10 PM PDT by Red Badger (The Left doesn't like him and the Right doesn't like him, so he must be the right guy for the job...)
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To: Organic Panic

a frivolous reply to a serious concern.


18 posted on 04/08/2016 8:46:11 PM PDT by beekay
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To: i_robot73; Red Badger; Opinionated Blowhard
Because...??...RACIST!

You are correct sir. It would be racist, to actually prosecute the dirt bags who take advantage of the situation. S/

19 posted on 05/16/2016 6:07:14 PM PDT by Mark17 (I traded my shackles for a glorious song. I'm free, praise the Lord, free at last.)
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To: Mark17

>You are correct sir. It would be racist, to actually prosecute the dirt bags who take advantage of the situation. /S

Oh, I enjoy stories such as these.

These are the low-hanging fruit of ‘Why Socialism doesn’t work’ and ‘If we were only a Republic still’.

Just think of the time, man-hours and $$ saved if the program(s) didn’t exist to begin; and economic slavery didn’t exist.

Course, the (R) ‘opposition’ party can’t even articulates the above; the (L) gets a ‘loony’ rap and even smaller parties are lost to the wind (but, IMO, would swell if People even LISTENED).

Well, it was a nice Republic...while it lasted.


20 posted on 05/17/2016 4:25:15 AM PDT by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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