Six companies and individuals involved in a federal program to subsidize Internet access in the nation’s schools and libraries have been indicted in San Francisco on allegations of defrauding the program, known as E-Rate.
Some of the companies and individuals are accused of submitting fraudulent documents to the government and being overcompensated for equipment headed to school districts in Arkansas, California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Others are accused of rigging bids and conspiring toward that goal as well as of charging the government for goods, such as video equipment, that are not covered by the program.
