Q Link Wireless's founder stole over $100 million from the FCC's Lifeline program, the largest criminal FCC fraud on record
Issa Asad, 51, founder and CEO of Florida-based Q Link Wireless, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to money laundering after federal prosecutors said that from as early as 2012 through at least 2021 he directed Q Link to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims to the FCC's Lifeline program, often for customers who were not using their service or had never requested it. Q Link ran coercive robocalls falsely implying customers' Medicaid and food assistance benefits were at risk if they left the carrier, manufactured fictitious cellphone activity logs, and, after learning of an FCC investigation, fabricated call records and false documents to conceal the fraud rather than return the money. Over $50 million in fraudulently obtained Lifeline funds moved to bank accounts in Jordan controlled by Asad and a family member. Asad separately pleaded guilty to laundering Paycheck Protection Program funds he obtained by falsely claiming the pandemic had hurt Q Link's business, spending the proceeds on a Land Rover, jewelry, personal credit card bills and property taxes. He was sentenced in July 2025 to 60 months in prison, and he and Q Link agreed to pay over $109.6 million in restitution to the FCC, with combined financial penalties across both cases topping $128 million, including a $17.5 million personal forfeiture from Asad.
- Year
- 2025
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $109.6 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Lifeline phone subsidy fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-11-03
The facts, as recorded
- Q Link Wireless, headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims to the FCC's Lifeline program from as early as 2012 through at least 2021, under the direct supervision of founder and CEO Issa Asad.
- Q Link manufactured fictitious cellphone activity logs for customers who were not using their phones, and ran coercive robocalls falsely implying a customer's Medicaid or food assistance benefits were at risk if they stopped using the service, specifically to keep billing the FCC for the account.
- After Q Link learned the FCC was investigating, Asad and others at the company manufactured call records and presented false documents to investigators rather than returning or amending the improper claims.
- Over $50 million in fraudulently obtained Lifeline funds moved to bank accounts in Jordan controlled by Asad and a family member.
- Asad separately pleaded guilty to money laundering tied to the Paycheck Protection Program, having falsely claimed the pandemic hurt Q Link's business to secure a forgivable loan, then spending the proceeds on a Land Rover, jewelry, personal credit card bills and property taxes.
- Asad pleaded guilty in October 2024 and was sentenced in July 2025 to 60 months in federal prison. He and Q Link agreed to pay more than $109.6 million in restitution to the FCC; Asad separately paid more than $1.75 million to the Small Business Administration. Combined financial penalties across both cases topped $128 million, including a $17.5 million personal forfeiture from Asad.
- IRS Criminal Investigation Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter said: "This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions. Mr. Asad prioritized his greed, stealing $100 million from taxpayers." FCC Inspector General Fara Damelin said the sentencing "sends an important message that egregious criminal misconduct against FCC programs will not go unanswered." US Attorney Hayden P. O'Byrne called it the most significant criminal matter in FCC history and the largest criminal plea deal ever prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida.
Why this case matters
The Justice Department called this the largest criminal matter in FCC history and the largest criminal plea deal ever prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida. It shows the corporate version of Lifeline fraud at its largest documented scale: not a single reseller padding its books, but a nationwide carrier running the scheme for the better part of a decade before being charged.
A program built to help, turned into a cover story
Q Link weaponized the program’s own eligibility logic against its customers. Because Lifeline eligibility often runs through Medicaid or food assistance enrollment, Q Link’s robocalls falsely implied that letting Lifeline service lapse would jeopardize those separate, unrelated benefits, a lie built specifically to keep the fraudulent subscriber count high.
Covering the fraud made it worse
Once Q Link learned the FCC was investigating, the company did not stop or return the improper payments. Prosecutors say it manufactured call records and submitted false documents to investigators instead, turning what might have been a civil compliance problem into continued, and compounding, criminal conduct.
The caveat
Asad pleaded guilty and has been sentenced; this is a resolved criminal case, not an allegation. The figures above, including the $50 million moved to Jordan and the combined $128 million in penalties, come from the Justice Department’s own charging and sentencing announcements as reported by the sources above; this page does not independently verify Q Link’s underlying subscriber or banking records.
People named in the public record
- Issa Asad · convicted
Sources
- Issa Asad, Q Link founder, sentenced to five years for largest criminal FCC fraud in U.S. history. Wireless Estimator. Accessed 2026-11-03. Supports: All facts above except where separately attributed: Asad's age and role, the 2012-2021 timeframe, the manufactured activity logs and coercive robocalls, the fabricated records given to investigators, the $50 million-plus moved to Jordan, the PPP fraud and what the proceeds were spent on, the guilty plea date, the 60-month sentence, the restitution and forfeiture figures, and the Carter, Damelin and O'Byrne quotes.
- Q Link CEO Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for USF Fraud and Money Laundering. Communications Daily. Accessed 2026-11-03. Supports: Corroborates the 60-month sentence, the more than $109 million fine and restitution figures, the manufactured non-existent cellphone activity and coercive marketing, and the false records provided to the FCC once the investigation began.