Lancaster County Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing $741,000 From Pandemic Broadband Program

PHILADELPHIA — A Lancaster County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding the federal government's pandemic-era broadband assistance programs of more than $741,000, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced.

Michael D. Martin, 36, of Stevens, Pennsylvania, entered the plea in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud. Between March 2021 and September 2022 he operated a company that falsely claimed to provide internet service to more than 1,000 households under the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program and its successor, the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The programs, funded through pandemic relief legislation, issued monthly subsidies directly to providers on behalf of eligible low-income households to cover broadband costs.

The schemes netted Martin $741,000 in improper federal reimbursements. He submitted falsified documentation showing service to households that either did not exist, did not receive the service, or were not eligible. The government has not identified any specific number of affected households beyond the more than 1,000 false claims Martin submitted.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2. Martin faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, though federal guidelines will determine the actual range. He must also forfeit the $741,000 in proceeds.

The case forms part of the Justice Department's broader enforcement initiative targeting fraud in pandemic relief programs, including those that distributed more than $50 billion nationwide for broadband access during the COVID-19 emergency. The Affordable Connectivity Program enrolled roughly 13 million households at its peak before Congress allowed it to expire in 2024.

This marks the latest guilty plea secured by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for misuse of broadband assistance funds. The original Emergency Broadband Benefit Program launched in 2021 under the Biden administration following passage of the American Rescue Plan Act; the Affordable Connectivity Program replaced it later that year with expanded eligibility until its funding lapsed.