DISH Wireless LLC will hand over $17.2 million to the federal government following allegations that it exploited programs designed to help low-income families stay connected to the internet. The Englewood-based company, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, reached the settlement to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act and the Communications Act of 1934.
The investigation centered on two federal initiatives: the Emergency Broadband Benefits Program (EBBP), launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its successor, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). These programs offered monthly subsidies—up to $50 under EBBP and $30 under ACP—to help eligible households afford broadband.
According to federal investigators, DISH’s Boost Mobile division enrolled more than 130,000 subscribers by claiming they participated in the free school lunch program. However, the government alleges that many of these individuals were never actually eligible.
In some instances, the company enrolled more households at specific schools than there were students in the entire building. Other red flags included enrolling 130 households based on “dependents” over the age of 21 and signing up 16,000 households for schools located more than 25 miles away from their homes.
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“The Justice Department will take action where companies and individuals knowingly violate the rules of federal programs and receive federal funds to which they are not entitled,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate. “This settlement demonstrates our continuing commitment to ensure integrity in the FCC’s programs.”
The government’s case painted a picture of systemic failure and intentional misconduct. Internal sales teams in states like Florida, Texas, New York, and West Virginia allegedly coached third-party agents to submit inaccurate applications. Furthermore, the U.S. alleges that DISH executives were aware of the enrollment fraud by September 2021 but failed to take any corrective action until April of the following year.
“DISH and its employees fraudulently signed up ineligible applicants to receive federal monies,” stated U.S. Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro. “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’s Inspector General, Fara Damelin, noted that the agency is committed to holding “bad actors” accountable, especially those who ignore early warnings. DISH reportedly continued to seek federal funds for months after an official advisory warning from the FCC’s Office of the Inspector General.
Beyond the False Claims Act violations, the settlement addresses common law claims involving 66,000 subscribers who didn’t identify a school-aged student in their paperwork and 2,400 instances of duplicate beneficiaries.
The $17,280,240 payout marks a significant win for the newly launched Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which aims to protect taxpayer dollars from being drained by corporate mismanagement and fraud.
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