内华达州Reno宽带公司老板认罪：侵吞逾780万美元联邦乡村宽带拨款，转入个人账户并兑换加密货币
美国司法部内华达区检察官办公室2026年10月27日宣布，内华达州 Reno 的宽带公司 Uprise, LLC 老板 Stephen A. Kromer 当日认罪，承认侵吞联邦资助的 Lovelock 高速宽带建设项目逾780万美元，把项目资金转入个人银行账户。Lovelock 位于内华达州 Pershing 县，在 Reno 东北约100英里处。
根据法庭文件，美国农业部（USDA）通过旨在为乡村地区建设高速网络的 ReConnect 计划，向 Uprise 提供2,700万美元联邦拨款，用于在 Lovelock 乡村地区建设高速宽带网络。作为取得拨款的条件，Uprise 须自筹约900万美元投入该项目；这笔钱来自内华达州方面，存入一个专供 Lovelock 项目使用、由农业部监管的独立账户。
2024年5月至11月间，Kromer 从该专用账户把逾780万美元转入自己的个人银行账户，并在账目上把这些转账伪报为 Lovelock 项目支出。起诉书指控，他随后把侵吞的钱款转入自己在多家加密货币交易所的账户，兑换成加密货币。Kromer 此次就一项联邦洗钱罪认罪。
量刑定于2027年3月9日，由联邦地区法官 Richard F. Boulware II 主持；Kromer 面临的法定最高刑为20年监禁，最终刑期将由法官参照联邦量刑指南等因素裁定。本案由联邦调查局（FBI）与农业部督察长办公室调查，助理联邦检察官 Steven Myhre 与 Skyler Pearson 负责起诉。
内华达区代理联邦检察官 Sigal Chattah 表示，窃取本应用于连接乡村社区的公共资金，是对内华达州纳税人的直接侵害；把赃款藏进加密货币，同样会被追查。农业部乡村发展署内华达州主任 Alida Ceballos 表示，该认罪离不开跨部门协作，农业部将继续配合司法部追究骗取政府项目资金者。
Reno Broadband Owner Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Over $7.8 Million From Federal Rural Broadband Grant Project in Nevada
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada announced on October 27, 2026, that Stephen A. Kromer, owner of Reno, Nevada-based broadband company Uprise, LLC, pleaded guilty that day to embezzling more than $7.8 million from the federally funded Lovelock high-speed internet construction project, transferring project funds to his personal bank account. Lovelock is in Pershing County, Nevada, about 100 miles northeast of Reno.
According to court documents, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded Uprise a $27 million federal grant through the ReConnect Program, which promotes high-speed internet networks in rural areas, to build a broadband network in rural Lovelock. As a condition of the grant, Uprise agreed to contribute approximately $9 million toward the project; it obtained that money from the State of Nevada and deposited it into a separate account designated solely for the Lovelock Project and overseen by the USDA.
From May 2024 through November 2024, Kromer embezzled more than $7.8 million from the designated account by transferring the money to his personal bank account and falsely accounting for the transfers as expenditures for the Lovelock Project. The indictment alleged that he then laundered the proceeds by moving them into accounts he held at various cryptocurrency exchanges, where the money was converted into cryptocurrency. Kromer pleaded guilty to one count of federal money laundering.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II. Kromer faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison; a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI and the USDA Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Myhre and Skyler Pearson are prosecuting it.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada said stealing public funds intended to connect rural communities is a direct assault on Nevada taxpayers, and that hiding stolen millions in cryptocurrency undermines public trust. USDA Rural Development Nevada State Director Alida Ceballos said the plea resulted from an all-of-government approach to tackling fraud.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：内华达州 Reno 市天际线（资料图）。图片来源：Trevor Bexon 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。Photo: The Reno, Nevada skyline (illustrative). Credit: Trevor Bexon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
