Sprint sued by Feds for overcharging on wiretaps by $21 Million
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 03/04/2014 09:54 AM
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The suit by the US government alleges that Sprint overcharged them by $21 Million in expenses associated with wiretapping. Any request from law enforcement to any of the nation's carriers must be honored per the Communications Assistance in Law Enforcement Act of 1994; which simply put requires them to be able to provide assistance when requested to do so, including modifying or designing equipment to have built-in surveillance capabilities. The act also permits the carrier to recoup reasonable expenses associated with any modifications made per such a request.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the complaint that was filed in federal court in San Francisco alleges, Sprint covered up the fact that the extra charges were included in the bills paid by the FBI and others by disguising them as regular surveillance costs. As a result, it says, the federal government overpaid Sprint by $21 million over a period of 3½ years.
The bills in question covered wiretaps and the installation of so-called "pen registers," which record data about incoming and outgoing calls but not the content of the calls themselves.
“Under the law, the government is required to reimburse Sprint for its reasonable costs incurred when assisting law enforcement agencies with electronic surveillance,” Sprint spokesman John Taylor said. “The invoices Sprint has submitted to the government fully comply with the law. We have fully cooperated with this investigation and intend to defend this matter vigorously.”
Wired points out that the carrier breached Federal Communications Commission guidelines of 2006 that prohibited carriers from using intercept charges to recover costs of modifying “equipment, facilities or services” to comply with the Communications Assistance in Law Enforcement Act.
“Despite the FCC’s clear and unambiguous ruling, Sprint knowingly included in its intercept charges the costs of financing modifications to equipment, facilities, and services installed to comply with CALEA,” according to the suit. “Because Sprint’s invoices for intercept charges did not identify the particular expenses for which it sought reimbursement, federal law enforcement agencies were unable to detect that Sprint was requesting reimbursement of these unallowable costs.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the complaint that was filed in federal court in San Francisco alleges, Sprint covered up the fact that the extra charges were included in the bills paid by the FBI and others by disguising them as regular surveillance costs. As a result, it says, the federal government overpaid Sprint by $21 million over a period of 3½ years.The bills in question covered wiretaps and the installation of so-called "pen registers," which record data about incoming and outgoing calls but not the content of the calls themselves.
“Under the law, the government is required to reimburse Sprint for its reasonable costs incurred when assisting law enforcement agencies with electronic surveillance,” Sprint spokesman John Taylor said. “The invoices Sprint has submitted to the government fully comply with the law. We have fully cooperated with this investigation and intend to defend this matter vigorously.”
Wired points out that the carrier breached Federal Communications Commission guidelines of 2006 that prohibited carriers from using intercept charges to recover costs of modifying “equipment, facilities or services” to comply with the Communications Assistance in Law Enforcement Act.
“Despite the FCC’s clear and unambiguous ruling, Sprint knowingly included in its intercept charges the costs of financing modifications to equipment, facilities, and services installed to comply with CALEA,” according to the suit. “Because Sprint’s invoices for intercept charges did not identify the particular expenses for which it sought reimbursement, federal law enforcement agencies were unable to detect that Sprint was requesting reimbursement of these unallowable costs.
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