$10 billion in fraud and penalties.
Major telecommunications companies have systematically defrauded consumers, violated privacy rights, and endangered public health while treating multi-million dollar fines as simply the cost of doing business.
Class action lawsuit pending (location data)
Stolen rural broadband subsidies
Third parties sold user location data
Selling user location to bounty hunters.
Investigative journalists discovered they could track any phone in America for just $300 through bounty hunters who purchased data from major carriers.
4-Year FCC Investigation
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint sold real-time customer location data to 316 third-party entities without consent. Result: $196 million in fines (2024).
Broken Promises
Despite promising to stop in 2018, carriers continued selling data for over a year. Verizon took 320 days to cease operations; Sprint continued for 386 days.
NSA Cooperation
AT&T's "Room 641A" in San Francisco captured ALL internet traffic using fiber optic splitters. Snowden revealed AT&T shared 1.1 billion cellphone records daily with the NSA starting in 2011.
Stealing billions through cramming.
Mobile Cramming
$217.5 million in FTC settlements from AT&T and T-Mobile alone. AT&T collected 35-40% commission on every fraudulent $9.99 monthly charge for fake horoscopes and ringtones, affecting 2.7 million customers.
"Unlimited" Throttling
AT&T received a record $100 million FCC fine for throttling speeds by up to 90% after just 2GB of usage, affecting 3.5 million customers throttled 25 million times.
Hidden Administrative Fees
T-Mobile's $3.49 monthly "Regulatory Programs Fee" misrepresented as government-mandated when it's purely discretionary - with 100 million customers, this single fee generates over $4 billion annually.
Taking $10 billion without delivering service.
Connect America Fund II
- • $10 billion given to telecoms from 2014-2021
- • 93% of 3.7 million locations received only 10/1 Mbps - speeds already inadequate
- • CenturyLink ($500+ million annually) failed in 23 of 33 states
- • Only 55% of subsidized locations still receive service after funding ended
Universal Service Fund Fraud
American Broadband paid $63 million - the largest USF fraud settlement - for enrolling deceased individuals in fake accounts. Criminal convictions exceed $100 million annually.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund
$2.8 billion in defaults, including LTD Broadband's $1.3 billion rejection and Starlink's $886 million clawback for bidding on parking lots and airport tarmacs.
International bribery networks.
Ericsson - $1.26 Billion in Penalties
After paying $1.06 billion in 2019, Ericsson breached their agreement by hiding Iraq operations where they paid "tens of millions" to ISIS terrorists for network access on a route called "Speedway."
Uzbekistan Scandal
TeliaSonera, VimpelCom, and MTS funneled over $1 billion in bribes to President Karimov's daughter through shell companies. Swiss authorities froze $912 million in assets.
Huawei EU Parliament Bribery
Allegedly bribed 15+ European Parliament members with €15,000 payments, football tickets, and trips to China to influence 5G policies. Eight people face charges.
Environmental disasters and health cover-ups.
Lead-Sheathed Cables
Over 2,000 lead-sheathed telecom cables from 1880s-1960s continue poisoning soil and water. A Lake Tahoe sample showed 38,000 ppb lead. Companies abandoned them rather than pay for cleanup.
Cell Tower Health Risks
Pittsfield, MA issued the first-ever cease-and-desist order against a carrier in 2022. T-Mobile's SEC filings warn shareholders about "adverse health effects" liability while communities receive no warnings.
Tower Worker Deaths
Fatality rate 10 times higher than construction workers - nearly 100 climbers killed in 9 years among just 10,000 workers. OSHA found 96% of accidents were preventable. Workers report: "We don't climb the towers when they're on. We know they're cancer-producing."
Serial offenders treating fines as business expenses.
AT&T's $177 million data breach settlement represents less than two days of revenue for a company earning $120 billion annually. With carriers treating penalties as operating expenses while continuing identical violations, consumers remain vulnerable to an industry that prioritizes profits over people.