Mont. Family Investigated Over Phone Charges and Faith Charity
January 24, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
Federal authorities have filed a civil complaint against a Montana family and their accountant for allegedly using a maze of companies to tack $70-million onto phone bills across the country and funneling much of the money into a nonprofit religious organization, the Associated Press reports.
The Federal Trade Commission accuses Steven and Terry Sann, their son, Nathan, and their accountant Robert Braach of adding unauthorized charges to phone bills through a variety of voice-mail and fax-service firms.
The companies returned more than $40-million to customers who complained, but other revenue was deposited into the bank account of Bibliologic, a charity set up by Steven Sann and Mr. Braach in 2009, then used to buy land and pay Mr. Sann’s legal bills in an unrelated case.
The FTC is seeking a court order to freeze the Sanns’ assets and suspend their business operations. An attorney for the family said in a court filing last week that the Sanns are also facing a criminal investigation.
