1985Lifeline program began
The federal phone subsidy that a Florida CEO, an Oklahoma carrier owner and a Michigan man were all convicted of defrauding has discounted phone service for low-income Americans since 1985.
Lifeline is a real FCC program funded through the Universal Service Fund, paying a carrier up to $9.25 a month, or $34.25 on Tribal lands, for every subscriber it reports as enrolled and eligible. All three documented frauds exploited that reporting, not the program's eligibility rules themselves.
Source: Federal Communications Commission · Federal Communications Commission. Read more: lifeline phone subsidy fraud