FORMER
EDUCATION CONSULTANT SENTENCED TO 7.5 YEARS IN PRISON
FOR FRAUD AND BID RIGGING IN THE FEDERAL E-RATE PROGRAM
WASHINGTON-A former
education consultant from California was sentenced to serve 7.5 years
in prison for rigging bids and defrauding the E-Rate program, the Department
of Justice announced. Judy N. Green, of Temecula, Calif., was sentenced
today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco after a jury found her guilty
on 22 counts of fraud, bid rigging, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud
relating to technology projects funded by the E-Rate Program. The projects
were at schools in seven states-Arkansas, California, Michigan, New York,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
E-Rate, a program
authorized by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, operates
under the auspices of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide
funding to school districts and libraries to connect to the Internet.
Under the E-Rate program, schools can receive money for cabling, Internet
backbone equipment (i.e., servers, PBX and switches), and the reimbursement
of monthly Internet and telephone connectivity service fees.
On Sept. 14, 2007,
Green was convicted of orchestrating schemes to defraud the E-Rate Program
of funds by inflating the cost of eligible equipment and services in order
to pay for ineligible equipment and services, and by misrepresenting schools'
ability and willingness to pay their portions of the projects' costs.
The jury also found that Green rigged the bids on these projects in favor
of vendors who had relationships with her. The fraud schemes and bid-rigging
conspiracies involved more than 25 school projects located throughout
the seven states during the 1998 to 2003 time period.
"Today's sentence
reflects the seriousness of the offenses and demonstrates the commitment
of the Antitrust Division to investigate and prosecute individuals who
tamper with the competitive and administrative processes crucial for the
operation of the E-Rate program," said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant
Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division.
As a result of the
Antitrust Division's investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct
in the E-Rate program, a total of six companies and 12 individuals have
pleaded guilty or have been convicted and found guilty or entered civil
settlements and have paid, agreed to pay, or been sentenced to pay criminal
fines and restitution totaling approximately $40 million. Trials are currently
pending in three additional E-Rate cases and one defendant remains an
international fugitive.
Today's sentence
is the result of a joint investigation by the Antitrust Division's Cleveland
and San Francisco Offices; the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno and
Detroit Offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Federal
Communication Commission's Office of Inspector General. Anyone with information
concerning fraud or anti-competitive conduct in the E-Rate Program should
contact the Cleveland Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 216-687-8400
or the FBI's San Francisco Office at 415-553-7674.
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