FCC: No prison for 26 charged defendants?

35 Responses

• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:14 pm

  Y3,

  I noticed this statement. However, if I remembered correctly, the government will look over the property, figure out its value, calculates the amount and if there are remaining balance after the calculation, these remaining balance will determine the years of sentence recommended by the DA (District Attorney). I’m sure you’ve seen the fine being penalized or up to xxx years in jail. For example, for tax fraud in California for those people who refuse to file a tax or pay tax for xxx years may be subject to criminal prosecution (brought to trial) and $150,000 fine and/or up to 5 years in jail.

  I don’t know how government does the calculation but there must be a team of math/statistic majors with JD in their side pockets to figure them out. However I got the feeling that some people will be separated in different level of indictment so the minor offense might get fined while the others will have their properties seized and being fined. There might be others that will go to jail altho their properties will be seized. They will have to cross one of their most difficult life paths from now on.
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:21 pm

  I didn’t think of that, Maisha. What happens if seized property doesn’t cover the fraud amount? I think the government can seize bank accounts, so whatever money’s in there is for the government’s seizing also.

  Does anyone know if the remaining amount (after seizing property) is paid by serving time?
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:32 pm

  If someone has 30,000 dollars in bank accounts, 300,000 dollars worth of house value and perhaps furniture in total of 20,000 plus car for 20,000. That person will still go to jail. I meant, FCC was robbed in MILLIONS of dollars. Approx. $390 dollars per hour goes to VRS paid by FCC. My predication ( I want your and your wife’s predictions here) is that maybe those people who handed out the information and encouraged them to be involved might go to jail for up to 2 years. Those others who actually scheme it will go to jail for 5-10 years. It depends on DA’s verification of their actions (all people are innocent before proved guilty in the eyes of the law). I’m not surprised if few of them get away with just slap on their wrists. But MILLIONS of dollars. All of them will have arrest records regardless if they’ll escape jail time. I’m not surprised if someone who was caught earlier brought in evidence for DA against the others. DA always go for the bigger fish(es).
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:50 pm

  That’s what I think too, however, the millions of dollars in fraud isn’t spread evenly across the defendants. Some defendants will be found to have frauded more than others.

  My prediction is not based on the length of sentence, but on the ability to pay the fine amount. Any unpaid fine determines the sentence.

  The sentence, if any at all, are decided by these factors:

  - how much was frauded by the defendant
  - whether or not defendant can pay the fine
  - assistance from others (family?) before or after property forfeiture, if necessary
  - valuation of property forfeited, if necessary
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:51 pm

  Excerpted from Dept. of Justice: “In the first indictment, Viable Communications Inc. and four Viable executives have been charged with fraudulently generating VRS call minutes and obtaining reimbursements from the FCC for those calls. Viable owner and CEO John Yeh, 62, of Potomac, Md.; Viable Chief Operating Officer Joseph Yeh, 64, of Potomac; Viable Assistant Vice President Anthony Mowl, 25, of Rockville, Md.; and Viable Human Relations Director Donald Tropp, 25, of Rockville, have been charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.”

  If they are guilty of all six-count indictment; all of them might go to jail. Submitting false claims and mail fraud are one of the most serious felony against the law.
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:54 pm

  Right, but at the bottom of the press release, DOJ says they’ll seek criminal forfeiture. They’re only interested in getting their money back. As far as that goes, DOJ thinks that’s punishment enough?
• 

  former employee | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:55 pm

  Tayler, take a look at the last sentence in this article from cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/19/deaf.fraud.indictments/index.html
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:55 pm

  found this on mail fraud:

  “Title 18, Section 1341, provides for criminal prosecution but requires proof of intent to deceive. The maximum penalties are 5 years in prison and a fine for each instance proved. The 1984 Criminal Fine Enhancement Act allows fines of up to $100,000 (or $250,000 if death results) per offense for up to two offenses. However, criminal prosecution is rarely used in cases involving mail-order health products because (a) administrative procedures are simpler and quicker and (b) intent to deceive is difficult to prove when a perpetrator pretends to believe that the product works…However, the Justice Department may seek such an injunction under Section 1345, which allows federal district courts to enjoin acts of mail and wire fraud.”
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:59 pm

  If they have 100,000 dollars, they might not go to jail. Who knows?
• 

  Dianrez | November 25th, 2009 @ 2:59 pm

  Those charges are indeed serious. Just for comparision, look at the sentences given Enron executives: 24 years for the top man and between 2 and 6 years for the other officers who testified against him. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121301851.html

  Enron ruined a great many individuals who had their pensions and savings tied up in that company; the damage is probably far greater than the millions owed to the government by the relay companies.

  Interesting will be how the defendants present their case and whether being deaf will be part of it. Also interesting will be grounds for appeal when that time comes. We might see some Deaf people in prison for a substantial time, however.
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 3:09 pm

  Everyone, I updated the post to include a statement saying that prosecutors will seek “unspecified jail time”. Thanks, “former employee”. See the comment.

  I think the sentences depends on how much was frauded by each defendant, regardless of the fine paid, but as the CNN article says, prosecutors will pursue jail time nevertheless. Alas I take back my comment that DOJ thinks forfeiture alone is punishment enough.
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 3:11 pm

  It said DOJ is seeking criminal forfeiture. “Seeking” I think also have a hidden meaning that they have to calculate to see how much value in property can they seize. If it is insufficient, DOJ might changed it into criminal prosecution. Seeking does not guarantee anything. And Postal Inspection is involved and by them, they are the most #$@holes to be prosecuted by. I’ve read articles where people are being prosecuted and they always make sure they’ll make an example out of them every time. That’s why committing mail fraud will throw you in jail almost every time regardless if DOJ is seeking something!
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 3:21 pm

  Maisha, that’s probably one of the reasons the prosecutors are gonna seek jail time.
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 3:22 pm

  Have you thought of covering this story? You’ll be a great person to do that!
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 3:29 pm

  I’d be terrible! My post was for naught. A bit more research would have probably saved us all the trouble. At least… people are aware that prosecutors are gonna go for jail time.

  The next few weeks will be busy with unpacking. But that’s the beauty of DeafRead, a number of bloggers contribute.
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 3:32 pm

  Hi Dianrez. How goes it?

  I think the Enron executives’ crimes were far more serious. A lot of people could no longer retire comfortably. They screwed PEOPLE, while those guilty of frauding FCC are screwing the government. You could argue that they’re screwing taxpayers, but no 401ks were wiped out.
• 

  Eddie | November 25th, 2009 @ 4:41 pm

  Uhhh, Tayler, just FYI, your analogy of the Enron crimes being more serious because people couldn’t retire comfortably is a little misguided. You said “You could argue that they’re screwing taxpayers, but no 401ks were wiped out”. Don’t take this the wrong way, okay?

  BUT THAT IS MY MONEY TOO, THAT WENT TO THOSE WHO ARE BEING CHARGED WUTH DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT (it’s defrauding, not “frauding”) and I want them to be prosecuted just as hard as the people from Enron were. Enron was horrible, devastating to many people. But this one is also serious as well. Those were OUR tax dollars used to pay them, you know? It’s no different than taking $200 million away from deaf education and putting it into studying the mating habits of turtles; it’s a waste, and it is depriving (ultimately) ALL of us the potential benefits of that money.

  Sorry if I seem rude, or even abrasive towards you about this, but I really dislike that kind of attitude “they just screwed the government, not people”. It is our government, run with our money, by people we elect. Therefore, they screwed us too…big time. Personally, if they are guilty, I hope they lose everything in the asset forfeiture process, as well as also serving a boatload of years in prison.

  One last point…to Maisha, “seeking” forfeiture simply means just that. Having dealt with the federal courts numerous times over the years in my job, it simply means that they will be asking the judge to force the defendents to forfeit those assets acquired with the ill-gotten gains (money from the fraudulent billings submitted). They won’t look at how much each person has, they will wait and see how much each person is deemed responsible for, then go after their properties through the forfeiture that will come closest in totality to fully reimbursing that persons’ assigned amount of responsibility, fines, etc.

  Thanks, and sorry I had to get up on my soapbox, Tayler. Hope you don’t take it personally.

  Eddie (Thumpaflash)
• 

  Jared Evans | November 25th, 2009 @ 4:46 pm

  The word I’m getting from around here is that prosecutors will be requiring some jail time to be served by those who were charged. It may not be the maximum sentence but there will be some hard time involved. The charges mentioned in the DOJ document are quite serious and I believe that in the end, the punishment will match the deed if they are indeed found to be guilty.
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 4:59 pm

  Eddie, I think the difference is that Enron affected people directly. I said screwing the government is screwing with taxpayers’ money, but it’s not direct. It doesn’t affect taxpayers directly. Thousands of Enron employees lost their jobs, and thousands more lost their retirement savings.

  Finally, nearly nothing of what Enron lost can be recovered. If there’s indeed any criminal forfeiture in this FCC case, the money will be recovered. Your, the taxpayer’s, money.

  Jared, yes, be sure to read this comment.
• 

  Maisha A. Franklin | November 25th, 2009 @ 6:28 pm

  wondering if i should create a poll at face book to see what kind of punishment to them are appropriate for those who broke the laws and are found to be proven guilty.
• 

  Anne Marie | November 25th, 2009 @ 7:29 pm

  We need more information about each individual how s/he contributes to the whole scheme before polling.

  Whatever, I only wish that deaf and hoh prisoners be treated fairly, it means (based on degree of offense and history etc) they should be placed in the same wing at least with staff workers who know signing, Deaf culture, rights etc. At least..

  Two reliable source about deaf prisoners on Internet so far:

  http://deafness.about.com/od/deafcommunity/a/deafinprison.htm

  http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=210
• 

  Ann_C | November 25th, 2009 @ 8:37 pm

  It’s just the beginning and a federal court trial date hasn’t been scheduled, as far as I’ve read. It’ll be interesting what the defendants’ lawyers will come up with in terms of a defense, especially for those who are d/Deaf…the “audism” card? Remember that OJ Simpson’s defense team played the “racism” card. What does that leave those defendants who aren’t d/Deaf? Eh, what an angle that would be.

  I really dislike that d/Deaf people took advantage of taxpayers’ money…money that every one of us pays if we’re working and have to pay income tax on hard-earned dollars, whether we’re d/Deaf or not. The indictments are going to make us, the deaf community, look like we take advantage of the “freebies” at taxpayers’ cost without due consideration for others who really need the government assistance, ugh. Those who’ve been charged put the magnifying glass on the rest of us.
• 

  Peter Hershon | November 25th, 2009 @ 9:11 pm

  I understand that 26 people were arrested and charged with mail fraud, according to the announcement of the department of Justice in conjunction with the FBI Investigation. I am curious if they have been ACTUALLY arrested or not. If they are not actually arrested yet, they could leave the country or hide somewhere, who knows. If anybody could confirm it, please let me know. Thanks.
• 

  Eddie | November 25th, 2009 @ 9:37 pm

  Tayler:

  While it is not everything they lost, the Enron employees recovered nearly half of the 401k money they lost. To be exact: “All told, Enron’s 401(k) plan participants lost about $1 billion in their Enron stock investments. When the lawsuit ended, the ERISA plaintiffs recovered $442 million”. Like I said, my disagreement was more with how you perceived that the screwing of the FCC (and therefore the taxpayer) was less serious than the Enron debacle. On everything else, I agree. I guess it is just a difference in perception, I perceive both to be equally as bad and criminal.

  Thanks for understanding it wasn’t personal.

  Eddie
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 9:51 pm

  Peter, I cannot confirm with 100% certainty, but footage I saw of CBS’s news coverage showed handcuffed individuals being marched to police cars.

  Eddie, I may think Enron is a far more serious crime by many measures, but that doesn’t mean I think screwing with taxpayers’ money somehow is a leeway to a lesser crime. It is just that Enron hurt a lot more people with more millions lost, namely the $580 million in un-recovered individual investments, which amounts to more than the total DEfrauded from the FCC.
• 

  tayler | November 25th, 2009 @ 10:04 pm

  By the way, Ann_C – I think the quote “Deaf people can do anything – but hear” works both ways. We can do anything, including defraud the government. In a positive light, it shows people we’re just the same, we have our own blights in our community, we have deaf people who are driven by greed etc. And just like in the hearing community, they know that there are both good and bad people. If anyone thinks we’re all the same – crooks — well, let’s not waste time on ignorance.
• 

  Anonymous | November 25th, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

  The word is DEFRAUD. They were indicted. They have not been tried yet, so it is premature to decide what their penalties will be. They were charged with felony offenses. If they are found guilty, they will have to do much more than pay a fine or surrender their assets. And yes, they were all arrested, and then released. John Yeh, the kingpin, is not permitted to leave the state.
• 

  tayler | November 26th, 2009 @ 7:12 am

  Thanks, Anonymous.
• 

  Remember BCI Scam | November 26th, 2009 @ 12:25 pm

  Doesn’t anybody remember the BCI ponzi scam by Marvin Cooper from Hawaii? Every possession was taken and sold to collect monies to be given back to the 100 people that invested in BCI. According to the website; Marvin is living free in Panama with no jail time. I would assume the same with the 26 indicated with VRS fraud; they will remain free but with everything they own being sold off in auctions.
• 

  tayler | November 26th, 2009 @ 12:41 pm

  Living free?? What the heck happened?!

  According to this CNN article, prosecutors will be pursuing “unspecific jail time” for those indicted in the FCC fraud case.
• 

  scot | November 29th, 2009 @ 4:38 pm

  Being a foreman on a grand jury, it is very common to see some sort of forfeiture as part of an indictment count. Forfeiture simply means if the accused is indicted for all of the counts, then the accused will automatically forfeit the evidence, possession, funds, or anything that is associated with all of the indictments. An indictment simply states that there is enough evidence for a regular petit jury trial. So, these 26 individuals have NOT been charged of the crimes yet, just simply indicted by the grand jury to go to trial.
• 

  Ernie | December 2nd, 2009 @ 9:24 am

  I think the most damaging evidence against John Yeh can be found in Indictment 1, page 11, #35 which reads: On or about July 21, 2007, defendant John Yeh sent an e-mail to Larry Berke, stating “your calls should look good – not too perfect and too long hours. Important not raise ‘red flag’ for FCC to see it. Understand me?” . . . To me this is a clear evidence in encouraging others to commit a fraud. I think Yeh should get some jail time plus fines among others. The DOJ better not let him get away with a slap on his wrists. As for others, they should receive some kind fines, loss of assets as well as some jail time. FCC is NOT to be messed with. If it was bad enough, the FCC could have shut down the whole VRS business including Sorenson’s which could push us back to TTY ice age. Hopefully, that can be served as a lesson to other present and future VRS businesses. As the old saying goes . . . “Money is the root of all evil” and it could never be truer in this case!
• 

  What?! | December 12th, 2009 @ 2:02 am

  Today on December 10, someone mentioned about these 26 charged defendants so I looked up in Google for more information, especially the name of the defendants. I knew some of the defendants from Gallaudet, but do not know them personally. I further investigated the nature of the case. Ah, I am not surprised to hear the fact that they may have overcharged the government thru the use of VRS. I remember hearing the complaints for some time. We are talking about the misuse of 50 million dollars. That’s a lot of money. I must say this … somebody must be prosecuted to be set as an example for stealing the federal money. I hope that the federal government do not take them lightly, due to their disability. They broke the law and they should be seen as CRIMINALS.
• 

  drea | December 17th, 2009 @ 9:53 am

  Just wondering how do we find out when the court date is for the 26 people that were arrested for defrauding the fcc’s funding??
• 

  tayler | December 17th, 2009 @ 10:02 am

  I’m not sure. I heard the arraignment was last Tuesday, December 15. I think that’s when the Judge determines the court date, if the any of the defendants plead not guilty.