Telecom Exec Pleads Guilty To Stealing $100 Million From PPP And Government Program

A Florida-based telecommunications exec admitted to committing $100 million of fraud.

A telecom exec faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to committing around $100 million in fraud.

Issa Asad, 51, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to fraudulently using his Florida-based company, Q Link Wireless Inc., to obtain over $600 million in government subsidies through Lifeline, a program overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. Prosecutors determined that approximately $100 million of those funds were linked to false claims, Market Watch reports.

Since its inception in 1985, the Lifeline program has been plagued by fraud, with many customers not qualifying for the free phone and internet services it offers. Asad was among those who exploited this vulnerability, submitting falsified customer data to make it appear as though his company’s phones were being used enough to qualify for the government subsidy.

Prosecutors stated that Asad employed several tactics to legitimize the false claims, including pressuring customers to keep the service by falsely warning them that canceling could result in losing all their benefits. The company also manipulated usage data by repeatedly calling customers and using spoofed numbers to prompt them to answer.

Prosecutors revealed that alongside the Lifeline fraud, Asad also admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds, which he used to finance the construction of a new home in Florida.

“Issa Asad and his company, Q Link Wireless, purposefully defrauded two critical federal programs helping individuals and businesses suffering financial hardship, unlawfully taking hundreds of millions of dollars for their use and profit, while obstructing the United States’ ability to help people who, unlike the defendants, needed it,” said Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Asad has been ordered to pay $109.6 million in restitution to the FCC and forfeit $17.5 million in personal assets. He will be sentenced in January 2025, where he could face up to 15 years in prison.