GCI Communications Corp., Alaska’s largest telecommunications company, has agreed to pay $40.2 million to settle allegations by federal prosecutors that it violated the U.S. False Claims Act and competitive bidding rules. (via AlaskaBeacon)
Former GCI Director of Business Administration Robert Taylor will receive $6.4 million as part of the settlement under provisions of a federal whistleblower law for The allegations were in connection with the company’s participation in the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Health Care Program. The program pays more than $570 million annually in subsidies to help rural health providers with telecommunications.
Prosecutors alleged that between 2013 and 2020, GCI didn’t follow the rules on how to calculate prices, leading to the company getting more in subsidies than it was entitled to. “Telecommunications providers that seek to participate in important FCC programs like the Rural Health Care Program must comply with applicable rules, including those governing how they competitively bid on contracts and set their prices,” said Brian M. Boynton, the principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“Providing health care services in rural areas, especially to Indigenous people in remote areas of Alaska, is vital and must be protected,” he said.
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