|
Business owners admit scamming federal program |
|
Thursday, 18 February 2010 |
|
The former co-owners of a New York and New Jersey-based firm have admitted their roles in a scheme to defraud a federal program out of millions of dollars.
Irma Azrelyant of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Joshua Finkle of New York, who owned Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpreting Services, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Trenton to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Prosecutors say the pair submitted more than $7 million in fraudulent billings to the Federal Communications Commission's Video Relay Service program. It allows people with hearing disabilities to communicate with others by using interpreters and Web cameras.
Both face up to 20 years in prison at sentencing in June, although the actual sentences could be less under federal guidelines.
|
