Following a decision by a federal judge in Wisconsin to send a whistleblower case from 2008 to trial, an AT&T (NYSE: T) subsidiary may need to repay millions it received in federal subsidies for providing internet services to schools and libraries, according to Statescoop.
The case, United States ex rel. Heath v. Wisconsin Bell, Inc., was originally filed by whistleblower Todd Heath in 2008. He claimed the carrier was overcharging schools and libraries for broadband services, more than allowed by the FCC’s E-Rate program that provides access to telecom services to eligible schools and libraries, especially those in rural and economically disadvantaged areas, notes Statescoop.
Judge Lynn Adelman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin last Thursday denied AT&T’s motion for summary judgment, allowing the case to proceed to trial in January. The case centers over a dispute about whether money dispersed through E-Rate counts as federal funds under the False Claims Act. The Act only allows for the recoup of funds distributed by federal entities to private companies. Whistleblowers can use the law to sue companies if they are defrauding the government through false claims about the dollar value of a contract or subsidy.
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