An Austin man has been charged with fraud as part of a scheme to steal millions from the FCC's Video Relay Service, a government program intended to help the deaf and hard-of-hearing communicate with hearing persons.

David Simmons, 43, of Austin, is one of 26 people indicted Thursday in a nationwide sweep. Simmons worked as the marketing and advertising director for Round Rock-based Mascom LLC. The indictments allege the companies submitted fraudulent claims for Video Relay Service (VRS) calls, causing the FCC to reimburse the defendants at a rate of approximately $390 per hour.

VRS is an online video translation service that allows people with hearing disabilities to communicate with hearing individuals through the use of interpreters and web cameras.

Simmons and Mascom are named in the second of six indictments, charging them with generating fraudulent VRS minutes. According to the indictment, these companies operated VRS call centers that generated and processed a large volume of fraudulent VRS calls, which were then submitted to the FCC’s TRS Fund Administrator for reimbursement. That six-count indictment includes charges for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.

Filed in News and tagged fcc, fraud, goverment, news

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