- EchoStar’s Dish Wireless will pay $17.28M to settle Justice Department allegations tied to low-income broadband subsidies
- The DoJ alleges Dish enrolled thousands of ineligible customers in the FCC’s EBBP/ACP programs
- EchoStar denies any wrongdoing, saying it acted in good faith using government tools to determine eligibility
EchoStar subsidiary Dish Wireless agreed to pay $17,280,240 to settle government allegations that it fraudulently took money from federal programs designed to help low-income people get broadband services.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged that Dish enrolled thousands of ineligible subscribers into the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefits Program (EBBP) and its successor, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), in 2021 and 2022.
The DoJ also claimed that Dish executives continued seeking FCC program funds even after they were informed about agents’ alleged enrollment fraud and after an FCC Office of Inspector General (OIG) advisory warning.
“Dish and its employees fraudulently signed up ineligible applicants to receive federal monies,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro for the District of Columbia said in a statement. “By doing so Dish received payments which they were not entitled. This is a shameful act on the part of a large corporation that is rightfully required to pay $17 million.”
The FCC launched the EBBP in May 2021 and offered eligible households up to $50 per month off their broadband bill and a one-time discount of up to $100 on an eligible connected device. The $14 billion ACP replaced the EBBP at the end of 2021, offering eligible consumers $30 per month in bill support as well as a $100 device discount. The ACP was discontinued in 2024.
Specifically, the DoJ alleges that between May 2021 and February 2022, Dish enrolled more than 130,000 subscribers into EBBP and ACP based on their participation in the free school breakfast and lunch program. For each of these subscribers, Dish received up to $50 per month under EBBP and $30 per month during ACP.
Among its allegations, the DoJ asserts that Dish internal sales employees in Texas, Florida, New York and West Virginia trained and directed third-party sales agents to submit inaccurate customer applications with incorrect school information and submitted this information to the FCC’s National Verifier, which was used to determine eligibility for the EBBP and ACP.
EchoStar denies wrongdoing
EchoStar says its wireless brands administered the legacy EBBP program in good faith and relied on government systems, including the National Verifier, for eligibility determinations.
“Throughout the program’s duration, we cooperated with government inquiries and proactively instituted process improvements to address gaps and potential abuse by third-party retailers,” an EchoStar spokesperson said in a statement provided to Fierce.
“While we deny any wrongdoing and do not admit fault, we have agreed to this settlement in the interest of moving forward and putting this legacy matter behind us. Our focus remains on delivering great wireless service to our customers," the spokesperson added.
The DoJ’s press release ends with this statement: “The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of civil liability.”
Separately, Dish is under fire for not paying tower companies and contractors who built its 5G network, now destined for decommissioning. The American Wireless Builders Coalition, backed by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), is pressing the FCC to withhold approval of EchoStar’s spectrum transfers to SpaceX and AT&T until EchoStar agrees to set aside money to pay its contractors and landlords.
WIA estimates infrastructure providers are owed somewhere in the ballpark of $7 billion to $10 billion for services rendered for Dish’s 5G network build.
EchoStar struck an agreement to sell spectrum to AT&T for $23 billion and two spectrum separate deals with SpaceX worth nearly $20 billion. Those spectrum transactions are pending before the FCC.