26 Arrested for VRS Overbilling Fraud
The investigations conducted by FCC had resulted in arrests of over 2 dozen pepole involved in overcharging FCC for generating fake calls. These arrests took place in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Maryland.
“The indictments charge owners and employees of the following seven companies with engaging in a scheme to defraud the FCC’s VRS program:
Viable Communications Inc., of Rockville, Md.;
Master Communications LLC, of Las Vegas;
KL Communications LLC, of Phoenix;
Mascom LLC of Austin, Texas;
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Interpreting Services Inc. (DHIS), of New York and New Jersey;
Innovative Communication Services for the Deaf Corp. (ICSD), of Miami Lakes, Fla.; and
Deaf Studio 29 of Huntington Beach, Calif.
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Each of the indictments alleges that the defendants made, caused others to make, or processed fraudulent VRS calls that were then submitted to the FCC for reimbursement. These calls, often referred to as “r calls,” “rest calls” or “run calls,” served no purpose other than to generate call minutes that would be billed to the FCC’s VRS Fund.
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In the first indictment, Viable Communications Inc. and four Viable executives have been charged with fraudulently generating VRS call minutes and obtaining reimbursements from the FCC for those calls. Viable owner and CEO John Yeh, 62, of Potomac, Md.; Viable Chief Operating Officer Joseph Yeh, 64, of Potomac; Viable Assistant Vice President Anthony Mowl, 25, of Rockville, Md.; and Viable Human Relations Director Donald Tropp, 25, of Rockville, have been charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.
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In the second indictment, Master Communications, KL Communications and Mascom owners and employees have been charged with generating fraudulent VRS minutes. According to the indictment, these companies operated VRS call centers for Viable that generated and processed a large volume of fraudulent VRS calls, which were then submitted to the FCC’s TRS Fund Administrator for reimbursement. Master Communications, KL Communications and Mascom owner and employee Kim E. Hawkins, 46, of Las Vegas; Master Communications employee and KL Communications owner and employee Larry Berke, 62, of Phoenix; KL Communications employee Dary Berke of Phoenix; KL Communications and Master Communications employee Lisa Goetz, 43, of Phoenix; and Mascom Marketing and Advertising Director David Simmons, 43, of Austin; have been charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.
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In the third indictment, DHIS owners and employees have been charged with generating and processing a large volume of fraudulent VRS calls. According to the indictment, DHIS operated VRS call centers for Viable that generated and processed fraudulent VRS calls. DHIS co-owners Irma Azrelyant, 47, of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Joshua Finkle, 41, of New York; DHIS video interpreter Natan Zfati, 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; DHIS bookkeeper Oksana Strusa, 35, of Jersey City, N.J.; DHIS video interpreter Alfia Iskandarova, 29, of Brooklyn; and DHIS video interpreter Hennadii Holovkin, 36, of Philadelphia; have been charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.
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In the fourth indictment, ICSD owners and employees have been charged with generating and processing a large volume of fraudulent VRS calls. According to the indictment, ICSD operated VRS call centers for Viable that generated and processed a large number of fraudulent VRS calls. The indictment also alleges that ICSD owners and employees engaged in sham “marketing calls” for the stated purpose of marketing VRS services, but for the alleged true purpose of fraudulently generating additional VRS minutes. ICSD co-owners Yosbel Buscaron, 25, and Lazaro Fernandez, 35, both of Hialeah, Fla.; ICSD call center manager Wanda Hutchinson, 35, of Pembroke Pines, Fla.; ICSD call center manager Jessica Bacallo, 23, of Miami; and ICSD marketing manager Kathleen Valle, 23, of Miami; have been charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.
In the fifth indictment, defendants Benjamin Pena, Robert Z. Rubeck and Tamara Frankel have been charged with generating fraudulent VRS calls. According to that indictment, Pena was allegedly paid by Viable owner and CEO John Yeh to generate fraudulent VRS minutes. Also according to the indictment, Pena allegedly paid Rubeck and Frankel to make VRS calls for the purpose of generating those fraudulent minutes. Pena, 34, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Rubeck, 34, of Surprise, Ariz.; and Frankel, 28, also of Surprise; have been charged in the six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.
Deaf Studio 29 owners and employees have been charged in a sixth indictment with generating fraudulent VRS calls. According to the indictment, Marc Velasquez Verson, Ellen Thompson and Doris Martinez allegedly organized and paid employees to use a particular VRS provider to make run calls. That provider would pay the defendants approximately 20 to 25 percent of the money the provider received from the FCC for the calls generated by the defendants. Velasquez, 56, of Oswego, Ore.; Ellen Thompson, 43, of Lake Oswego, Ore.; and Doris Martinez, 51, also of Oswego; were charged in the six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and wire fraud.
To read the full article, click on Welcome to the United States Department of Justice
Jeff Rosen, of SNAP VRS was featured on CBS Evening News reporting the VRS fraud and the arrests. Here is the captioned segment: http://bit.ly/4FS3f1 hat tips to Jasun Hicks and Jared Evans for making this tape available to the public.
UPDATE: From FCC: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-294764A1.pdf
Please keep in mind that all the indicted are innocent until they are proven guilty by a jury.
The investigations conducted by FCC had resulted in arrests of over 2 dozen pepole involved in overcharging FCC for generating fake calls. These arrests took place in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Maryland.
“The indictments charge owners and employees of the following seven companies with engaging in a scheme to defraud the FCC’s VRS program:
In the fifth indictment, defendants Benjamin Pena, Robert Z. Rubeck and Tamara Frankel have been charged with generating fraudulent VRS calls. According to that indictment, Pena was allegedly paid by Viable owner and CEO John Yeh to generate fraudulent VRS minutes. Also according to the indictment, Pena allegedly paid Rubeck and Frankel to make VRS calls for the purpose of generating those fraudulent minutes. Pena, 34, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Rubeck, 34, of Surprise, Ariz.; and Frankel, 28, also of Surprise; have been charged in the six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and mail fraud.
Deaf Studio 29 owners and employees have been charged in a sixth indictment with generating fraudulent VRS calls. According to the indictment, Marc Velasquez Verson, Ellen Thompson and Doris Martinez allegedly organized and paid employees to use a particular VRS provider to make run calls. That provider would pay the defendants approximately 20 to 25 percent of the money the provider received from the FCC for the calls generated by the defendants. Velasquez, 56, of Oswego, Ore.; Ellen Thompson, 43, of Lake Oswego, Ore.; and Doris Martinez, 51, also of Oswego; were charged in the six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to submit false claims; submitting false claims; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and wire fraud.
To read the full article, click on Welcome to the United States Department of Justice
Jeff Rosen, of SNAP VRS was featured on CBS Evening News reporting the VRS fraud and the arrests. Here is the captioned segment: http://bit.ly/4FS3f1 hat tips to Jasun Hicks and Jared Evans for making this tape available to the public.
UPDATE: From FCC: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-294764A1.pdf
Please keep in mind that all the indicted are innocent until they are proven guilty by a jury.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Thank you for sharing this information. I could not believe that. Wow. They don’t respect the deaf community. I wonder what happen to VRS in the future?
November 19th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
BOYCOTT DEAFNATION AND ALL DEAF PUBLICATIONS AND NEWS WEBSITES IF THEY DON’T MENTION ABOUT THIS DEVELOPMENT!!!
November 19th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Tom, this is going to hurt Deaf Community big time. FCC was already objecting to the high expenses incurred by VRS companies. Finding out that millions of dollars were generated fraudulently isn’t going to help VRS companies in the long run, even though the other VRS companies may be innocent. Several more VRS companies are rumored to be generating fake calls, too. I hope this rumor turns out to be false. It’s a sad time for the Deaf Community.
Deaf Anonymous, there are at least two reports published at DeafRead. Many of the electronic news reporting sites are sponsored by VRS companies, including Viable. So this may be a conflict of interests for them.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Advertising and sponsoring doesn’t entitle relay companies to immunity from coverage the deaf world deserves! Precedents point otherwise within the real-world of press! It’s time to get tough! DeafNation needs to quit worrying about loss of money! Bring on the brutal truth! The relay companies are replaceable!
November 20th, 2009 at 6:30 am
I don’t agree that it’s going to hurt the deaf community big time. Just the opposite.
FCC Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus said, “The tragedy is the unfortunate truth that a significant number of unscrupulous individuals, at great cost to the nation, have preyed on a very important program for delivering essential telecommunications services to persons with hearing disabilities. The ‘opportunity’ is the chance to reiterate our commitment to the VRS program and to follow through on efforts, already begun at the FCC, to safeguard the program against further waste, fraud, and abuse and to improve its delivery of VRS services to consumers.”
November 20th, 2009 at 8:52 am
[...] http://www.mishkazena.com/2009/11/19/over-2-dozens-arrested-for-vrs-overbilling-scams/ [...]
November 20th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Nov 19 Phoenix TV news reported that two of those arrested out here in Phoenix were hearing- impaired. This isn’t just a matter of hearing crooks taking advantage of deaf people.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:29 am
This is indeed a very sad day for the entire Deaf community. Especially so sad when some of the involved parties are Deaf themselves and they took advantage of the system to enrich themselves at our expense!
What has happened to the work ethics? It seems as if everyone is out to make a fast buck the easy way. It is dishonesty that drives pure greed.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Wait, wait… is “arrested” the same as “indicted”? Are all those 26 people actually sitting in jail cells at the present moment?
November 20th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Stop blaming hearing people and interpreters.
Deaf people wake up!!! Deaf people screwed the government!!!
Deaf own the VRS companies listed!!!!!
November 20th, 2009 at 11:53 am
There were Deaf, hearing, and hard of hearing people indicted. The issue isn’t whether deaf people screwed the system or hearing people. The issue is that too much greed and too little concern for ethics screwed the system, and it reflects poorly on all of us unfortunately. Even worse, I do believe this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as the VRS fraud indictments go.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I am not surprised by all this…. this stuff happens everyday everywhere ..
November 20th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
i believe that the owners are deaf. it’s not a deaf/hearing issue however, but despicable, greedy, unfortunate people. i hope they ar in jail but i’m sure we (the taxpayers) will continue to be scammed by these people.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
If they’re found guilty, I hope the judge throws the book at them.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
No coverage about this so far in Deaf Nation. I just sent them a message asking if they plan to report on it. I shared some of the feelings expressed on this site (that we expect unbiased reporting regardless of who sponsors the reporters)…I’m awaiting a response.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Hello everyone from DeafNation,
I am not sure how DeafNation can get involved in this kind of news because its already been announced by the Dept. of Justice and other media outlets. They have more resources to report the news ahead of us
Its not about the sponsorship that we are worried about.
Remember, DeafNation’s style is not getting into negativity like this. We produce shows like Sports, Deaf Culture events, No Barriers with Joel Barish and other areas. CNN, MSNBC and local news has their own style of news reporting. No one complained to us about Deaf molesters, murderer, domestic violence and different horrible stories because it already has been reported by others. Of course, I am very disappointed because I personally knew a lot of them for many years and we are as much disgusted as you are in how they took advantage of the VRS funds. Just keep in mind that DeafNation will never do any kind of reporting like this. Our goal is to do stories that preserve the Deaf Culture with archives for many years to come. Let other media outlets do their JOB because they will be doing it better than we can do with limited resources to investigate the stories like this.
For those guys who have an issue with DeafNation, I welcome them to share directly with us which they never did. They took advantage of blogs like this and comments to pull us down without getting the truth. Contact us to see why you have an issue with DeafNation. I will be more than happy to resolve this professionally like Kristie did.
Thanks,
Jed Barish
DeafNation
November 20th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Jed Barish,
I understand why the FCC seem put difficult to know if it is true while VRS interpreter abused on FCC policy were not followed up with the criminal. My question about John Yen might not aware of that and reality big time on him someone instructed incorrect with a VRS systems. or VRS interpreter did their job to interpreter for deaf community with 39 millions deaf lives in American.
39 deaf community lives with no VRS. They have no way to access of their need as doctor, lawyers..I was wonder why the VRS interpreter abused FCC while Deaf invents with their right with American Disabilities Act law were abused by doctor. Same things. it is so different issues between Non-American Disabilities Act by VRS interpreter. It is kind of so confusion? Tell FCC back off. or Tell FCC *&^%$#@!
Margaret AKA Deaf Pixie.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Deaf Anon, they are not required to report everything related to the Deaf Community, as there are other sources like blogs and listservs to cover this. I like their articles covering Deaf Culture.
Whosey, that’s the standard political talk. Have you already forgotten their attempts to cut down the monies for VRS over the years, complaining of the exceedingly high operating costs of VRS companies? Kudos to NAD for their post to FCC about protecting VRS companies and stressing the importance of VRS to the Deaf Community.
C.M Furham and Kristie, did someone say all the arrestees are deaf? I don’t know for sure, but I think the arrestees involve both Deaf and hearing. It just shows that Deaf people are no different than hearing people. Like some hearing peer, some Deaf people succumb to greed, as Steve Flaten said.
DeafPundit, I ’see’ you. I personally know one, so it was a disappointment for me to see his name on the list.
Jed, glad you came to explain the position of DeafNation. I think it’s a good electronic news site.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Mishka Zena, Several people commenting today have implied that the owners of all the companies mentioned are Deaf. I do not know if that is true. I know two of them, so I know that at least two of the owners are Deaf. As for the others, I am not sure. There were definitely hearing people involved as well. You are right, though. Anyone, hearing or Deaf, can succumb to greed.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I was told there are few hearing who are interpreters involved this. Not all 26 Deaf. Yes, this is so stunning. Sad. I hope FCC will not cut down but will oversee many agencies all over the United States to be sure this will not happen again. Wait and see. I used to admire John Yeh when I read the article about him and his job when I came to Gallaudet in my freshman year. Wow …
Innocent Until Proven Guilty. Will there be a Jury of Deaf Peers? Ha.. A long way to go.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Again I was told the Sorenson did the same thing a few years ago. Sorenson had to pay the money back to FCC as part of their agreement. I don’t recall this. Is this true?
November 21st, 2009 at 7:28 am
I know several individuals (some of them as friends and acquaintances for years) in this case, it is disheartening to see these good people..
I suspect mostly that it is not only greed but in the beginning when the company launched, there was a great pressure to keeping the company viable heading to this situation. Once when a snowball rolls, it gets bigger and there is no way to stop it.
You know, the owner had to invest a lot with his own $ from many years of hard work (I had seen it personally) and should we say well too bad? Or is it system that shares their role as enabler?
If I was one of employee noticing something funny,..wow…with mortgage, family, and narrow employment opportunities..
Just a thought..
November 21st, 2009 at 8:57 am
Where can I find the actual indictments? There seems to be no easy way to find the actual text; just press releases and news stories covering the arrests.
November 21st, 2009 at 9:16 am
Do not trust xxxxxx.. He is a con artist. Took my money and disappear back 94-96. He was living in xxxxxx, CO back then. He does shady business. He lied to me. Im glad he got caught. *name and state edited out*
November 21st, 2009 at 11:49 am
It is a mark of many famous people that they cannot part with their brightest hour.
November 21st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Sad, really a BIG VRS Scams. I concur with Anne Marie. I’ve known John Yeh since 1963 when he was my classmate in Kendall School, Washington D.C. and I lived in his family one or two summers. Outside his appearance, he is really a naive person, but inside his personal traits, he knows what he is doing, no matter good or bad, yet he has many dark sides. He has accomplished successfully his business enterprise, only with advices from his elder brothers who have PHD degrees in computer sciences/Mathemetics and his pursued for SBA approval easily. Let me put this way, he was not born American, he was brought up in Taiwain and then was immigrated to Washinton DC from Brazil. Lucky, Kendall School enrolled him with no knowledges of ASL and English. His classmates and I cultivated him in our American cultures he craved of. Currently, it seems to me that he has not shown his apprecation for what Kendall School and his friends, including me, who acclimated him to be “American”. In my own opinion, he has a big America’s dream that he could get away with his business enterprises as well he once mentioned that his father were well-known in Taiwain. Now, in my simple words of advice for him, DO NOT MESS with U.S. Government. He simply violated FCC’s a fine printed LAW. I wonder…if not for Kendall School, his friends nor I accommodated him, he definitely would save his face in his lifetime.
November 21st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I am not surprised and this is a shame! I believe that there are a lot more that are involved. Check Rochester NY Sorenson. Do not trust them.
November 21st, 2009 at 5:12 pm
No matter what Gov’t arrest them 26 know better that FCC’s rules.
Just Listen……..Be Careful and dont play a game with the FCC then Understandly?
Gov’t is strictly too.
November 21st, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Well, there is a middle aged guy who had worked as a magistrate clerk at the Cambridge court near the Harvard University for 10 years (which I believe). Many wondered why the coins had been low or missing. In the videotaping, the guy was caught stealing many coins from the copy machines and others in the back room for a few years or less. He has stolen approximately 10,000 dollars. Now the guy is guilty and faces two years and half in this prison. Many good people do these things that we don’t know. It is not about the Deaf people but many hearing people do the same thing. Yes It is my biggest concerns that VRS business can affect many of us because it is likely that FFC may have to cut down a bit. Wait and see. Remember Innocent until proven guilty. Awfully sad things go wrong.
November 21st, 2009 at 8:15 pm
JED’S RESPONSE ON BEHALF OF DEAFNATION IS TOTAL HOGWASH! PERSEVERING DEAF HISTORY INCLUDES SHARING ABOUT TRIUMPHS AND SETBACKS THROUGH THICK AND THIN. THIS IS A WHITE-OUT! BOOKS AND DOCUMENTARIES DO THIS KIND. DEAFNATION DON’T. THIS MAKES DEAF CULTURE APPEAR ALL DANDY! THUMBS DOWN!
November 21st, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Deaf Anonymous, you seem to have a beef with Deaf Nation. Perhaps it would be better for you to take it up with them directly.
Personally I think DeafNation is doing fine, without any obligation to report everything that’s Deaf-related. Not all newspapers and magazines cover crime stories. There are dog oriented magazines, inspiration-theme magazines, and travel magazines, etc. You get the idea. Deaf Nation concentrates on positive aspects of Deaf Community since there is a demand for that kind of magazine. If you want, you can set up an electronic news magazine to cover both the positive and negative aspects of Deaf Culture.
Dino, yes, it is an equal opportunity scheme. Hearing do it, Deaf do it. Whites do it, African Americans do it, Catholic, Baptists… unfortunately it is human nature.
I won’t be surprised if FCC audits other VRS companies.
I have copies of several indictments. Unfortunately I don’t think I know how to convert them as they are in pdf forms. I’ll see if someone can help me with that
Yeh is one of the well known successful Deaf businessmen. With his brothers, he created and sold a multi-million dollars business. This time, with Deaf partners, he created a popular VRS where many Deaf people are employed. Nevertheless, it doesn’t look good as DOJ is pretty meticulous, however he is still innocent until he is tried by his peers
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 am
Wake up.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Wake up American Disabilities Act staff, need to solve the problen between VRS company and FCC. Million deaf community live without VRS. They have not to access VRS companies as such general callings- doctor offices, lawyer, please do it asap if no, deaf people will be boycott soon.
Wake up>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Wake Up
FCC staff need to do thier job to go inspect to VRS companies and set up rule before give them money.
If FCC does not do well, why donot FBI warn them First ………..
Remember FCC’s money came from America people’s taxes. it is worth more than trillion dollar.
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
* Deleted due to not being related to the VRS scandal. *
If you have an issue with Jed Barrish, take it with him directly or do something about it. Trashing him in my blog won’t resolve the problems you have with him. MZ
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
its a shame, clearly a shame,yet this isnt over, what will happen next will be ” Finger pointing” and the list will go on and on..
sit back and watch…
be sure to bring some popcorn….
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:12 pm
What a shame ! We deaf are the minority.. The worst crime is having the deaf rip off other deaf … We are to be supportive and be fortunate to have the service of using the VRS …After all the years we were deprived from …. It is all about being greedy .. You all are intelligent people and there is no excuse for this behavior ..A lesson will be taught ..Hope this will not happen again .Please respect the FCC Law… or we could lose this privilege….
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:07 pm
You are right. It’ll hurt the Deaf community, but at same time, it was inevitiable. It was bound to happen at some point anyway. One of the greatest irony in life is we fight for freedom, yet too much freedom is bad for us. Think of this way. When we go into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, we are so tempted to do WHATEVER we want to do… But if you do recall from watching the movie or reading the book, every kid failed because they simply did NOT follow Willy Wonka’s rules. The temptations were too much.
Rules are not meant to restrict us. Instead they are meant to guide us in avoiding making stupid mistakes and treating others unfairly. We think and fight for our survival. And fighting for our survival is egocentric. Egocentrism is part of human nature. We prefer to satisfy ourselves before anyone else. The reality is if we kept doing that, none of us would have last… In other words, rules are designed to help us suceed in the long run…
Now, it is unfortunate that there are always individuals who just don’t want to follow the rules, but they are still a necessary evil. They help us to keep our freedom in check.
In conclusion, it’ll hurt the Deaf community, but not too much. I am not even sure if we’l
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:08 pm
l notice it!!! VRS is too much a part of our life. We can’t live without it and don’t want to live without it. We’ll be fine…
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
From Mishka Zena: I beg your pardon? I have a full life and cannot keep checking my blog all day. Please don’t assume that I’ve already read your comment earlier today, when actually I read it a minute ago.
Your second comment is deleted due to extreme profanity toward me, which is unacceptable here. Freedom of speech comes with great responsibility and trying to commit character assassination of another person you are frustrated with is both malicious and irresponsible as well as unproductive. I suggest you try to be assertive and resolve your grievance with that person. I don’t know what to say as I have no idea what the problem is. If it involves the beta product, that’s the expermental version. There are steps for you to take if you feel your complaints were ignored.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:16 am
Hi Mishkazena, you mentioned above that you have several copies of the indictments. Any luck with getting assistance on convering it to PDF format to share it with us?
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Well, 26 Deaf people who were arrested by federal government agencies for fraudulent. Remember Deaf and Hearing are no different because of their abilities in the white collar criminal activities like cooking the books that to steal the federal monies like SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) and FCC (Federal Communication Commission).
November 24th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Wow. I found out about this a couple days ago. I cannot believe how I know these people. Those people responsible for exploiting their own people, and they fiddled with our trust. Otherwise–when I heard the names of those arrestees, I sort already sensed that it will eventually be those people. I’ve met them serveral times in my Gallaudet days. In my guts, I knew they were of waste of talent.
November 24th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Deaf, hearing, codas, interpretrs, etc etc are all involved. As Kristie said, this is indeed just the tip of the iceberg. I agree with Ann Marie that the status quo (mainly, the monopolization of 1 VRS provider) contributed to the pressures of starting a VRS company. However, it does not make it okay to engage in fraudulent and abusive practices. It is my hope that when it is all said and done, VRS will be about providing quality products and effective communication. Most importantly, that access to the telephone network will mirror the experience and access of the hearing world.
I can sympathize with deaf anonymous. I do not intend to defend deaf anonymous because I don’t know what the “beef” is with Deaf Nation, however, the organization does seem to reap ample rewards from sponsorships from VRS providers, and the mere fact that Deaf Nation accepts or requests for financial support from VRS providers regardless of their unscrupulous/unethical conduct does bring into question the integrity of the Deaf Nation. The same goes for RID.
Take for instance Sorenson, while their VP200 and its service features are seemingly superior in functional equivalency over current videophone products, their support of the deaf community enormous, and support for interpreting training generous, their integrity is questionable because they have hsitorically restricted, limited, and employed seemingly oppressive tactics to further their control of the market even if it meant sacrificing functional equivalency. The current problem with device interoperability is allegedly their fault and the problem persists because we are not united in fighting for the betterment of access and services.
If we as consumers, leaders, organizations, interpreters, etc. came together and boycotted or spoke against providers for their unethical choices in business practices, we would be able to see greater change more rapidly; change that would ultimately serve the interests of the users of VRS and not their own.
I think if deaf anonymous framed his/her concerns in that context, we could begin to understand his or her frustrtaion. There is a need for cohesion among us so that we can begin to work together to make the service work for us and not the other way around.
Although, I am a video interpreter, I am not “loyal” to any VRS provider. I am foremost loyal to my profession and my responsibilities to the people for which my profession was created; deaf and hard of hearing. Many will argue that I should be responsible for the hearing as well.. sure, but not when they are oppressive and/or unethical and it adversely impacts the deaf community.
Drew thanks for the Willy Wonka analogy, we are indeed egocentric and often fail to serve the greater good.
November 24th, 2009 at 9:46 am
To those who are defendng DeafNation…you’re missing the point. By not reporting or mentioning the VRS fraud, a deaf reporting service / website / blog, etc., appears to be displaying bias reporting or disseminating falsehoods to the deaf community by just publishing “happy” news only. In doing so, it provides a huge disservice to the deaf community. It also appeards to be ‘turning the other cheek’ when one of our own commits a crime. It also appears that there may be a conflict of interest between the disseminating service and the VRS conspirators involved. If there is a cozy relationship between the two, or worse yet, if any of the operators of deaf websites or blogs knew of these activities happening prior to the indictments, then they are just as culpable. And if there is a financial interest (funding or advertising, etc), admit it. Face it, bad news and happy news are a part of our lives. We’re not children. By being fully informed, we all learn how to lead our lives as decent people.
P.S. I am not accusing anyone of anything. I only blame the arrested parties as outlined in the DOJ statement for their own downfall. I knew some of these individuals and I am angry at them for betraying us. I am just my expressing my opinion and exercising my right to freedom of speech.
-A Non-Lawyer Deaf Citizen
November 24th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I do agree with you for sure in 100%
DC Deaf say:
Nov 22,2009 at 8:47 a
*****Remember FCC’s Money came from American’s People’s Taxes.It is worth more than Trillion Dollar*****
Also
tjl says:
Nov 22,2009 at 6:12 pm
*****Hope this will not happen again. Please respect the FCC Law*****
November 24th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I just wonder how the people who got arrested feel now after beign caught. Have they even thought about the consequences? Are they even sorry? What about their family? Some of them came from well known Deaf family.
For me, it still hard to imagine that anyone would stoop this low take advantage of FCC. Well it isn’t only FCC they are taking advantage of..
Look at the general Hearing and Deaf population. Both try to take advantage of the govenment systems for years ie: ssi, ssdi, welfare, wic, and many more. Federal or local so before we point fingers at them… Look around you…
We just happen to be a very small community.
I am just wondering how they are feeling about all of this…
November 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I was just wondering if anyone knows the name of the woman in the beret that was led away in handcuffs in the CBS video?
November 24th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
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November 26th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Happy Thanksgiving, readers
I have very limited access to a computer now. I have the converted pdf form that I can install in my blog, but the limited access makes it difficult for me to create a new post.
I am also unable to answer each comment individually, too, for the same reason. But I still can approve comments, so feel free to comment and answer each other’s questions, if possible.
Enjoy the holidays with your beloved family and friends.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Gina- I hate to break it to you but even the MVP is technologically superior to the vp200 (and more advanced than that – Think Vpad). If sorenson controlled the market, they would essentially control the advancement of videophone technology in the deaf community. So, these companies allegedly committed fraud and they also brought technological advancements that would have not been possible otherwise.
And they’re all dirty, just for the record.
December 1st, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Out of all, I was surprised to see Benjamin Pena out of Scottsdale is one of them. He is charged for pocketing $1.5 million. He is the owner of DeafCruise.com. Would it be safe doing business with him after all?
December 5th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Its sad that it had to come to this but I am releived not to be used to steal from the government anymore. I am not a theif and I refuse to “drive the get away car.”
Its about time that the FCC step in and set up strict guidelines as to which kinds of calls can be processed. VRS is a fantastic service for Deaf and HOH individuals. Its unfortunate that greed has caused a gross manipulation of the system.
Its not a Deaf vs Hearing issue here. In my opinion Deaf people and Interpreters alike should not be allowed to open a “VRS company.” Its clearly a conflict of interest when either party has something to gain from owning a “VRS company.”
Its not only the administrators of these companies that should be held accountable here, I hope you realize. The Deaf “employees” that were hired to initiate these fradulent calls should also be made responsible to pay back thier “earnings” via garnishment of their SS checks monthly. Understand that they have also defrauded the government by double dipping the “welfare” dime. These “employees” would sit home collecting SS income and as long as they didnt earn more than SS allows for their limit to continue receiving monthly SS checks… They could then receive both thier SS checks and payment for their fraudulent “work.” The problem lies with in both “incomes” are paid from federal accounts, while the recipients have to do no more than sit home and initiate fraudulent “run-on” calls.
I did not go to school for several years to earn a degree and become a professional in my feild to serve the very community that doesnt mind USING me to steal from the government. In essence, I have been stripped of my “rose colored shades” and am happy that I can see things as they really are.
December 7th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
After reviewing everyone’s comments and hearing from the communities outrage on these alleged VRS abuses…I think its important to remind folks in this country everyone is Innocent until proven guilty!
While I agree these abuses should not have happened, I personally know of 3 people who were charged (simply because their name was on a piece of paper when the bill was sent in to the FCC), those 3 people which I will not name, were able to show the judge that they had no involvement with the billing aspect and should not have been indicted. Someone else pointed fingers at these 3 people to divert the attention to them. I believe these 3 people will be exonerated and the charges will be dropped. In the mean time I just wanted to remind folks to not jump the gun and remember, in this country you are innocent till proven guilty.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Any Result?
December 14th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Sorry I wasn’t able to publish the comments until now. The Internet connection where I was staying wasn’t ideal.
Recently I was informed that John Yeh was the former business advisor of DeafNation. Whether that is accurate or not, I don’t know, but it’s obvious there were more going on than I realized. You see, I was and still am not familiar with the history of DeafNation. The concerns of others regarding the reporting of DeafNation make more sense to me now.
Deaf Pixie, now that you mentioned it, I think their court date should be anytime soon. I need to check on that.
December 15th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I will say one thing about DHIS and Viables. I work for DHIS and the fact is Irma was the greedy pig and John Yeh is a scum of the earth. There was 30 part time interpreters who work for the company and four full time employees who was innocent of this matter. Joshua have a good heart but he wouldn’t stand up to Irma. I warn them they were going to get caught. I hope Irma get 25 years in jail. She actually told me in my face in her country they bribe people and she was good in doing that.
If we lose the FCC support in the VRS business. We only have to blame our own deaf peers who set up there own VRS business and stole money from our Federal government.
I can’t find a job on the behalf of DHIS scandal. I feel I am label by VRS company. I did my behalf to report it to the FCC.