News
A Colorado ISP is rejecting claims that they acted inappropriately with public funds.
By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Maverix Broadband is disputing findings by the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) that the internet service provider (ISP) mismanaged public funds.
Through a response shared with The Colorado Sun, Maverix Broadband told the newspaper that it “disputes every calculation, determination and finding” in the CBO’s Comprehensive Monitoring Report, released Sept. 21.
On September 21, the Colorado Broadband Office announced they were terminating six grants and rescinding over $100 million in provisionally awarded Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding that was destined for the company.
The ISP, which the CBO said was placed into receivership before a formal cancellation could be issued, was the subject of two whistleblower reports received in late May, CBO stated.
“CBO moved to immediately freeze further payments, open an inquiry, and initiate enhanced monitoring oversight of Maverix,” CBO’s Sept. 21 announcement said. “These actions identified financial mismanagement and misuse of grant funds including payments for services and materials that were not received, and unpaid vendors.”
In their announcement, the CBO also said had the matter been referred to law enforcement agencies, including the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
The $100 million in BEAD funds provisionally awarded to Maverix was intended to cover approximately 10,000 locations.
“CBO is working with federal partners to reopen the affected planned broadband locations through a competitive rebid process so other providers can bring high-speed internet service to impacted communities,” the office stated.
Meanwhile, the state also says they’ll pursue the recovery of $2.5 million in federal funds and $700,000 in state funds through ongoing receivership and bankruptcy proceedings.
“No BEAD contracts with Maverix were signed and no BEAD funding was disbursed to Maverix,” CBO’s Sept. 21 announcement stated.
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