{"id":9643,"date":"2010-03-10T00:38:06","date_gmt":"2010-03-10T05:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=9643"},"modified":"2010-03-10T03:53:41","modified_gmt":"2010-03-10T08:53:41","slug":"three-former-owners-and-employees-of-two-video-relay-service-companies-plead-guilty-to-defrauding-fcc-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/03\/10\/three-former-owners-and-employees-of-two-video-relay-service-companies-plead-guilty-to-defrauding-fcc-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Former Owners and Employees of Two Video Relay Service Companies Plead Guilty to Defrauding FCC Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Department of Justice
\nOffice of Public Affairs<\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n

Tuesday, March 9, 2010<\/p>\n

Three Former Owners and Employees of Two Video Relay Service Companies
\nPlead Guilty to Defrauding FCC Program<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three former owners and employees of two different video relay service
\ncompanies pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Federal
\nCommunications Commission\u2019s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program of more
\nthan $2.5 million, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of
\nthe Criminal Division.<\/p>\n

The following defendants each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court
\nJudge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton, N.J., to one count of conspiracy to commit
\nmail fraud:<\/p>\n

* Yosbel Buscaron, 25, a co-owner of Florida-based Innovative Communication
\nServices for the Deaf (ICSD);
\n* Lazaro Fernandez, 35, a co-owner of ICSD; and
\n* Natan Zfati, 32, a former video interpreter (VI) for New York and New
\nJersey-based Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpreting Services, Inc. (DHIS).<\/p>\n

Buscaron, Fernandez and Zfati were charged with engaging in schemes to steal
\nmillions of dollars from the FCC\u2019s VRS program, along with 23 other people
\nand one company, in six indictments unsealed on Nov. 19, 2009. According to
\nthe indictments, VRS is an online video translation service that allows
\npeople with hearing disabilities to communicate with hearing individuals
\nthrough the use of interpreters and web cameras. A person with a hearing
\ndisability who wants to communicate with a hearing person can do so by
\ncontacting a VRS provider through an audio and video Internet connection.
\nThe VRS provider, in turn, employs a video interpreter to view and interpret
\nthe hearing disabled person\u2019s signed conversation and relay the signed
\nconversation orally to a hearing person.<\/p>\n

VRS is funded by fees assessed by telecommunications providers to telephone
\ncustomers, and is provided at no cost to VRS users. The FCC reimburses VRS
\nproviders at a rate of approximately $6.50 per minute, which amounts to
\napproximately $390 per hour.<\/p>\n

In pleading guilty, the three defendants admitted that they conspired with
\nothers to pay individuals to make fraudulent VRS phone calls and to process
\nfraudulent VRS phone calls that were billed to the FCC through VRS provider
\nViable Communications Inc. Each defendant admitted to generating or
\nprocessing thousands of illegitimate VRS hours that were billed to the FCC.<\/p>\n

According to information contained in the plea documents, Buscaron,
\nFernandez and Zfati each admitted that their role in defrauding the FCC\u2019s
\nVRS program led to a total loss of between $2.5 and $7 million.<\/p>\n

At sentencing, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in
\nprison, a fine of $250,000, as well as mandatory restitution and forfeiture.
\nSentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2010.<\/p>\n

To date, 11 individuals have pleaded guilty to their roles in defrauding the
\nFCC. Co-defendants Joshua Finkle and Irma Azrelyant, co-owners of DHIS,
\npleaded guilty on Feb. 18, 2010, for their roles in the scheme and are
\nscheduled to be sentenced on June 29, 2010. Co-defendant Alfia Iskandarova,
\na DHIS VI, pleaded guilty on March 4, 2010, and is scheduled to be sentenced
\non June 28, 2010.<\/p>\n

The indictments charge owners and employees of the following six companies
\nwith engaging in a scheme to defraud the FCC\u2019s VRS program:<\/p>\n

Viable Communications Inc., of Rockville, Md.;
\nMaster Communications LLC of Las Vegas;
\nKL Communications LLC of Phoenix;
\nMascom LLC of Austin, Texas;
\nInnovative Communication Services for the Deaf Corp. (ICSD) of Miami Lakes,
\nFla.; and
\nDeaf Studio 29 of Huntington Beach, Calif.<\/p>\n

An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent
\nuntil and unless proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Hank Bond Walther and
\nTrial Attorney Brigham Cannon of the Criminal Division\u2019s Fraud Section. The
\ncases are being investigated by FBI\u2019s Washington Field Office, the U.S.
\nPostal Inspection Service and the FCC Office of Inspector General.<\/p>\n

Source:
\n http:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/2010\/March\/10-crm-237.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Three Former Owners and Employees of Two Video Relay Service Companies Plead Guilty to Defrauding FCC Program Three former owners and employees of two different video…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,24,2035,2038,3666,3668,342,2037,3667,2033,2056,2034,2032,2051,2031,650,64,61,2055],"class_list":["post-9643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-community","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-interpreting-services-inc","tag-deaf-studio-29","tag-department-of-justice-office-of-public-affairs","tag-dhis","tag-fcc","tag-icsd","tag-innovative-communication-services-for-the-deaf","tag-kl-communications-llc","tag-lazaro-fernandez","tag-mascom-llc","tag-master-communications-llc","tag-natan-zfati","tag-viable-communications-inc","tag-video-relay-service","tag-videophone","tag-vrs","tag-yosbel-buscaron"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-2vx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12220,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/11\/02\/owner-and-a-former-executive-of-indicted-video-relay-services-company-plead-guilty-to-defrauding-fcc-program\/","url_meta":{"origin":9643,"position":0},"title":"Owner and a Former Executive of Indicted Video Relay Services Company Plead Guilty to Defrauding FCC Program","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 28, 2010 Owner and a Former Executive of Indicted Video Relay Services Company Plead Guilty to Defrauding FCC Program WASHINGTON \u2013 John T.C. 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