The Lifeline program was founded in 1985 to help Americans afford phone service and later broadband internet service. This program provides a discount on these services of up to $9.25 a month to participants who qualify based on certain socioeconomic conditions. People are eligible if their income is 135% or more below the official U.S. federal poverty line. For 2024, that is $15,060 a year for one person! This program has a history of fraud claim challenges. An audit by the government accounting office determined that around 36% of all claims made to the program between 2014 and 2017 were fraudulent. And many of those claims came from Issa Asad.
On October 16, 2024, Asad pled guilty to fraud for using his Florida-based telecommunications company, Q Link Wireless Inc., in a scheme that stole over $100 million in fraudulent claims for these government subsidies. For years, Asad’s company regularly provided falsified customer data to show its phones were being used enough to qualify for the subsidy. Among the tricks Asad was accused of using was to pressure customers to keep the service by making false threats that they could lose all their benefits by canceling. Asad himself received more than $15 million for his participation in this scheme. Yet not enough for Asad stop committing even more fraud.
On October 16, 2024, Asad also pleaded guilty to fraudulently applying for and receiving more $1,758,330 in COVID-19 relief loan proceeds, which he used to pay for the construction of a new home in Florida. A fraudster can never have enough no matter who they harm. Asad purposedly defrauded millions of dollars from two critical federal programs whose purpose is to help individuals and businesses suffering financial hardship. while obstructing the United States’ ability to help people who, unlike Asad, need the help.
Shout out to the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Telecom exec pleads guilty to stealing $100 million from fraud-plagued government program” published by MarketWatch on October 16, 2024.
Issa Asad admitted to submitting phony customer data for years to Lifeline, an FCC program providing discounted telephone and internet service to low-income Americans. A federal program providing discounted phone and internet service to low-income Americans served as a $100 million pipeline to telecom executive Issa Asad’s pockets.
Federal prosecutors say that for nearly a decade, Asad had pilfered that sum by submitting phony customer data to Lifeline, the fraud-plagued program run by the Federal Communications Commission.