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Bartlett man, two others, indicted in phone scam of federal phone program for low-income customers [The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. :: ]
[April 15, 2014]

Bartlett man, two others, indicted in phone scam of federal phone program for low-income customers [The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. :: ]


(Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 16--Three men, including a Bartlett resident, are charged with defrauding the federal government of $32 million in connection with submitting false claims to a program that provides discount telephone services to low-income customers.



Kevin Brian Cox, 38, who lives on Fox Bough Lane in Bartlett, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 15 other counts of wire fraud, false claims and money laundering. The court also authorized the government to seize the trio's "ill-gotten gains," that include multiple bank accounts, a yacht, a 1997 Beechjet and luxury automobiles. The indictment calls for "a forfeiture money judgment of at least $32,393,00.00," according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Efforts to reach Cox on Tuesday were unsuccessful. Calls left at several numbers listed for him were not returned or there was no way to leave a message. A man who answered the call box outside his residence, which is surrounded by a tall metal fence, said Cox was not there.


Cox is shown as owner of True Wireless LLC on Brother Boulevard. Last month, Cox applied and received a business license listing him as owner of King Home Realty LLC, which is located in the same building on Brother.

Cox, along with Thomas E. Biddix, 44, of Melbourne, Fla. and Leonard I. Solt, 49, of Land O' Lakes, Fla. were indicted last week in the case. Cox is listed in the indictment as an undisclosed owner of Associated Telecommunications Management Services, LLC, (ATMS) the holding company that owned subsidiary companies that participated in the Lifeline Program -- a federal program providing affordable phone service to low-income citizens. Companies that provide the service are reimbursed under funds collected from private telephone companies who pass along the costs to customers under a line item such as "universal service charge" on their bills.

According to the indictment, ATMS and its entities "artificially inflated the total dollar amount claimed for reimbursement under the program" from January 2009 and April 2013.

The trio used the money from the scheme to "finance their personal business ventures and lavish lifestyles, including personal living expenses, luxury automobiles, yachts and private jet airplanes." The indictment calls for the trio, if convicted, to forfeit any property purchased with money "traceable to the violation." The specific items listed include the jet, money, a 2008 Lamborghini convertible, a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette, the boat named "Knight Crew," a 2008 Mercedes-Benz S63 and a 2010 Audi R8 -- the only vehicle with a Tennessee tag. The vehicle is registered to EWP Communications, LLC, which has the same Brother Boulevard address as other companies associated with Cox.

The indictment lists Cox's address as Arlington. That is due to the two-acre site having an Arlington ZIP code. His 5,700-square-foot house, valued at $563,100 in the 2013 appraisal, is inside the Bartlett city limits in the Buckhead Creek development north of U.S. 70 and east of Germantown Road.

___ (c)2014 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) Visit The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) at www.commercialappeal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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