On September 8, 2022, the FCC released the below two items of interest regarding fraudulent enrollments of multiple households in the Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”) based on the eligibility of a single Benefit Qualifying Person (“BQP”). Under the ACP rules, a single BQP cannot be used to qualify multiple households for ACP support simultaneously and participating service providers are required to implement policies and procedures for ensuring that their ACP households are eligible to receive the ACP benefit, including checking for intracompany duplicates.
- Public Notice: The Wireline Bureau announced the implementation of additional measures to strengthen ACP program integrity, including: (1) USAC development work to prevent improper enrollment in the National Verifier system and strengthen and improve duplicate enrollment detections based on BQP eligibility; and (2) increased USAC integrity reviews related to enrollments based on a BQP along with the de-enrollment of identified fraudulent households.
- Advisory: The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) warned ACP providers against fraudulently enrolling multiple households in the ACP based on the eligibility of a single BQP. The Advisory provides data on recent findings, including one instance where the FCC determined that more than one thousand Oklahoma households were enrolled based on the eligibility of a single BQP. In addition, FCC Inspector General David Hunt stated that “providers who continue to seek program support each month after failing to properly train and monitor their sales agents’ enrollment activity will be held accountable.”
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