By Steven Allen Adams, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Attorney General pushed back in a Nov. 27 court filing on efforts by parties in a lawsuit against Frontier West Virginia to prevent the state from recouping millions in penalties from a botched broadband implementation nearly a decade ago.
Frontier — which is being sued by Bridgeport-based internet provider Citynet — and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia filed responses Nov. 22 to a motion to intervene in the case by the Attorney General’s Office.
The state is seeking $4.9 million in penalties and fees from Frontier after the state paid $4.6 million to the federal government due to misuse of a grant for broadband internet expansion. Frontier, the subcontractor on the project, was accused by the Inspector General’s Office for the U.S. Department of Commerce for marking up invoices to the state by as much as 35 percent and charging the state millions in indirect costs that were not allowable.
Citynet filed suit against Frontier in 2014 under the False Claims Act. Frontier is accused of allegedly misusing $40.5 million in federal grant funding to build a statewide broadband network only benefiting Frontier. …
Read more: https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2019/12/ag-fires-back-at-frontier-u-s-attorney/