美国FCC拟对Boomerang Wireless罚款440万美元：指其把数百名已故者登记为低收入通信补贴用户
美国联邦通信委员会（Federal Communications Commission，FCC）10月29日在 Washington 发布《拟议责任通知》（Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture，文号 FCC 26-77），拟对 Boomerang Wireless 罚款 4,401,666 美元。FCC 指称，该公司涉嫌把数百名已经去世的人登记为联邦「生命线」（Lifeline）低收入通信补贴用户并据此申领款项，登记时使用的还是虚假地址。
FCC 执法局是根据 FCC 监察长办公室的一项提示展开调查的。调查认定，Boomerang 涉嫌把数百名已故者登记进该计划，并篡改这些已故者的记录、将他们登记在 California，而所用的虚假地址与这些人生前居住地毫无关联。这份《拟议责任通知》以其报销申领、登记数百名已故者以及涉嫌违反联邦电汇欺诈规定为据，提出 4,401,666 美元的拟议罚款。
「生命线」计划由联邦普遍服务基金（Universal Service Fund）出资，为符合条件的低收入美国人提供电话与互联网服务折扣，该计划每年支出近 10 亿美元。FCC 表示，监察长办公室的提示考察了三个自选退出联邦「全国核验系统」（National Verifier）的州，发现各服务商曾拿到近 500 万美元联邦资金、为数十万名已故者提供电话或互联网服务，其中近 81% 发生在 California，FCC 已撤销 California 的这一「退出」资格。FCC 今年早些时候已通过「生命线」计划重大改革，确保只有在世且合法的美国人参加该计划。
这项行动在 FCC 10 月公开会议上由全体委员表决通过，主席 Brendan Carr 与委员 Anna Gomez、Olivia Trusty 均投批准票，Brendan Carr 与 Anna Gomez 另发表单独声明。FCC 说明，《拟议责任通知》只载有指控、并非最终裁定：FCC 最终处以的罚款不得高于本次拟议金额，Boomerang Wireless 将有机会提交证据与法律意见答辩，FCC 考虑其答复后才会采取进一步行动。
FCC Proposes $4.4 Million Fine Against Boomerang Wireless, Alleging It Claimed the Dead as Lifeline Subscribers
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on October 29 in Washington issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (FCC 26-77) proposing a $4,401,666 fine against Boomerang Wireless. The FCC alleges the company enrolled and claimed hundreds of deceased subscribers with false addresses under the federal Lifeline program.
The FCC's Enforcement Bureau began the investigation based on an advisory from the FCC's Office of Inspector General. The investigation found that Boomerang apparently enrolled hundreds of dead people in the program and manipulated the records of these deceased individuals to enroll them in California, while the false addresses had no connection to where the individuals resided prior to their deaths. The notice proposes the $4,401,666 forfeiture citing the reimbursement requests, the enrollment of hundreds of dead people, and apparent wire fraud violations.
The Lifeline program, funded by the Universal Service Fund to provide a discount on phone and internet services for qualifying low-income Americans, accounts for nearly $1 billion in spending annually. According to the FCC, the Inspector General advisory looked at the three states that had opted out of using the National Verifier and showed that Lifeline providers received nearly $5 million in federal dollars to provide phone or internet service to hundreds of thousands of dead people, with nearly 81% of these incidents in California, where the Commission has revoked the state's opt-out status. Earlier this year, the FCC adopted major reforms to the Lifeline program to ensure that only living and lawful Americans participate.
The notice was adopted by a vote of the full Commission at its October Open Meeting, with Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty approving; Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez issued separate statements. The FCC notes that a Notice of Apparent Liability contains only allegations and is not a final Commission action: the Commission may not impose a greater penalty than the amount proposed, and Boomerang Wireless will be given an opportunity to respond with evidence and legal arguments before the FCC acts further.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于 Washington 的美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）公开会议室，委员席与参会席全景（2011年7月公开会议）。FCC 照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Federal Communications Commission's open meeting room in Washington, with the commissioners' dais and attendee tables (July 2011 open meeting). FCC photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
