One of the National Security Agency’s top trusted private sector partners, AT&T, is once again making headlines for its alleged overcharging of Wisconsin school districts.
On Jan. 16, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion regarding a lengthily ongoing legal battle with AT&T over allegations a company subsidiary spent years overcharging Wisconsin school districts for their telecommunications services.
As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, in August 2023, a three-judge panel in the 7th Circuit has ruled unanimously to send to trial a False Claims Act case alleging Wisconsin Bell submitted and led other to submit false federal subsidy claims under a government program intended to ensure affordable telecom services for schools and libraries.
The case, Todd Heath v. Wisconsin Bell Inc., was originally filed in 2008 and focuses on the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program, or E-rate program. Whistleblower attorney David Chizewer, of Chicago-based Goldberg Kohn, serves as counsel for Heath.
When AT&T petitioned the 7th Circuit for a rehearing, the legal strategy focused on a key issue in U.S. ex rel. Todd Heath v. Wisconsin Bell, whether funds used to reimburse schools under the federal E-Rate Program are considered government funds, and therefore subject to the False Claims Act.
“But in a rare move, the court returned an opinion that left AT&T in a worse position than it had been in prior to the petition. AT&T’s...
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