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Barrett C. White Pleads Guilty to E-Rate Scandal
Washington – In a shocking turn of events, Barrett C. White, owner of an Illinois-based technology company, has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program.
According to the investigation, White participated in the conspiracy beginning on or about February 2004 through August 2005. The government alleged that White offered and delivered bribes and kickbacks to school officials in multiple states in exchange for E-Rate contracts to his co-conspirators’ companies.
The E-Rate program, created by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, under the oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The program provides subsidies to economically disadvantaged schools and libraries, paying 20 to 90 percent of the cost for Internet access and telecommunications services.
As a result of the Antitrust Division’s investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the E-Rate program, including White’s plea, a total of seven companies and 21 individuals have pleaded guilty, been convicted at trial or entered civil settlements. Those companies and individuals have been sentenced to pay criminal fines and restitution totaling more than $40 million. Fifteen individuals have been sentenced to serve jail time.
White is charged with conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
White pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The plea resulted from an investigation by the Antitrust Division’s Dallas Field Office, the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and the FCC’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Anyone with information concerning violations of the E-Rate program is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Dallas Field Office at 214-661-8600 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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