AT&T will pay an additional $3.5 Million in addition to $18.25 already paid pursuant to a consent decree, in order to settle fraud charges brought by the government based on information revealed by whistleblower Constance Lyttle for what she alleged was overbilling by the company.
The government alleged that the company knowingly overbilled the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, which compensates IP Relay Service providers for placing calls on behalf of hearing or speech impaired individuals in the United States.
According to the papers, as much as 80 percent of the calls for which At&T claimed reimbursement were ineligible because the calls did not originate in the U.S. or were not place by hearing or speech impaired individuals.
The Government also said that it was common knowledge that many of their callers were from Nigeria or other foreign nations and that they were using the TRS program to advance credit card or other fraud schemes.
The whistleblower, Ms. Lyttle will receive $525,000
