Morgantown man charged with theft of Federal Broadband Funding
May 2—The owner of Clearfiber Inc., an internet service provider in Monongalia County, was charged with money laundering Wednesday, after allegedly defrauding a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant program, according to a press release from U.S. District Attorney William Ihlenfeld's office.
In or around October 2019, court records state Timothy Chad Henson, 35, of Morgantown, on behalf of Clearfiber, applied for and was awarded in excess of $1.9 million in grant funding to provide high-speed internet services to rural customers in Monongalia and Marion counties through the USDA's Community Connect Program.
According to court information documents, Henson "made false and misleading statements on the application and submitted false invoices to the USDA electronically, causing the USDA, on Sept. 28, 2020, to deposit the amount of $340, 464 into an account held by Clearfiber Inc."
After receiving the $340, 000 deposit, the government alleges Henson then transferred $322, 900 into another bank account for his personal use.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wagner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
Henson is scheduled for an initial appearance on May 29 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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