The FCC Enforcement Bureau suspended a Louisiana woman from participating...
The FCC Enforcement Bureau suspended a Louisiana woman from participating in the E-rate program Thursday, and commenced debarment proceedings against her, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. via the program (http://xrl.us/bmy9pq). Gloria Harper pleaded guilty in…
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June to “knowingly and willfully orchestrating multiple fraudulent schemes and conspiring with others to defraud the E-Rate program through the submission of materially false and fraudulent documents, concealment of material facts, and obstruction and manipulation of the competitive bidding process involving schools and school districts located in six states,” a bureau letter said. According to the plea agreement, Harper had been bribing school officials and fraudulently signing E-rate program applications since late 2001. Her companies got about $4.5 million in E-rate contracts due to her “fraudulent schemes,” the bureau said. Harper was sentenced in February to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The bureau also initiated debarment proceedings, and intends to make a final decision within 90 days. If Harper is debarred, she will be prohibited from participating in the E-rate program for at least three years, although the bureau may set a longer debarment period “if necessary to protect the public interest,” it said.