A U.S. telecom provider and its CEO have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by stealing more than $100 million from a federal program designed to provide discounted phone services to people in need.
Issa Asad, 51, CEO of Q Link Wireless LLC, based in Dania Beach, Florida, also pleaded guilty on Oct. 15 to laundering money in a separate scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was intended to aid individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2025, with Asad facing up to 15 years in prison—the statutory maximum of 5 years for the conspiracy charge and 10 years for money laundering, according to the DOJ.
Q Link Wireless was a provider in the federally funded Lifeline Assistance and Affordable Connectivity programs, designed to provide discounted or free phone or internet services to eligible low-income consumers. The government’s Lifeline program has offered low-income consumers a discount on qualifying monthly cellphone and broadband services since 1985.
As part of their plea agreements, Asad and Q Link agreed to jointly pay $109,637,057 in restitution to the FCC. Asad separately agreed to pay $1,758,339.25 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration and to a forfeiture judgment of at least $17,484,118.
“Issa Asad and his company, Q Link Wireless, purposefully defrauded two critical federal programs helping individuals and businesses suffering financial hardship, unlawfully taking hundreds of millions of dollars for their own use and profit, while obstructing the United States’ ability to help people who, unlike the Defendants, needed it,” U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida said.
From at least 2012 through 2021, Q Link, under Asad’s direction, defrauded the FCC’s Lifeline program by making false claims for reimbursement, retaining funds it was not entitled to, providing false information about customers, and deceiving the FCC about compliance with program rules, the agencies said.
The defendants employed tactics to mislead the FCC about customer usage and prevent customers from ending their relationship with Q Link.
They manufactured non-existent cellphone activity and used coercive marketing techniques to retain customers, the agencies found. In one instance, they used an automated script falsely warning customers: “Hello, your Medicaid, Food Stamp, and Lifeline benefits are about to get canceled. To avoid cancellation of these benefits, press 1 now to indicate that you wish to remain enrolled in these government programs.”
Upon learning of an FCC investigation, Asad and Q Link pleaded guilty to creating and providing false records to conceal the fraud and continue collecting reimbursements. The estimated total loss to the FCC from their actions is $109,637,057. As part of his plea, Asad admitted to personally receiving approximately $15 million from the scheme.
Asad also defrauded the PPP by making false statements about Q Link’s business in order to obtain and retain loan proceeds.
He falsely claimed that Q Link’s Lifeline reimbursements had decreased significantly because of the pandemic. Court records indicate that Asad used PPP funds for personal expenses, including constructing a new home, making donations, purchasing jewelry, and paying property taxes on his residence.
“Stealing over $100 million for programs meant to support people in times of need is a crime against the entire nation,” Juan A. Vargas, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, said. “Asad and Q Link’s guilty pleas send a clear message: those who cheat the government for personal gain will be held accountable.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the FCC Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery.
Attorneys listed for Asad in court documents did not reply to a request for comment by publication time.
