Two plead guilty to fraud in deaf services case
Two other former executives with Rockville company face trial in May
Two former executives of Rockville deaf services company Viable reached a plea agreement and pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court Wednesday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss three other counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., for Anthony Mowl, 25, former assistant vice president of business development for Viable, and Donald Tropp, 25, former Viable human resources manager.
Mowl and Tropp, both of whom pleaded not guilty to the charges last month, are scheduled to be sentenced on June 28. They face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Viable president John T.C. Yeh and a brother, vice president of corporate strategy Joseph Yeh, face a trial May 24 on charges that include conspiracy to defraud the government, according to a Justice Department news release.
Authorities said they engaged in a scheme to defraud the federal government out of millions of dollars by billing the Federal Communications Commission for interpreting calls between deaf and hearing people that were not legitimate. Both Yehs pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.
In pleading guilty, Mowl and Tropp admitted that their role in defrauding the FCC's video relay service program led to fraudulent billing of between $2.5 million and $7 million from fall 2007 through January 2009.