The owners of Miami Lakes-based Innovative Communication Services for the Deaf pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to defraud the Federal Communications Commission out of more than $2.5 million.

Yosbel Buscaron, 25, and Lazaro Fernandez, 35, co-owners of Innovative Communication Services for the Deaf, were charged along with 23 others in six indictments unsealed in November.

They are alleged to have stolen millions of dollars from a program designed to help the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

The group was charged with defrauding the FCC by submitting false and fraudulent claims for voice relay service (VRS) calls. The FCC reimbursed the defendants at a rate of about $390 an hour, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

A third man, Natan Zfati, 32, a former video interpreter for New York and New Jersey-based Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpreting Services, also pleaded guilty.

The three admitted that they conspired with others to pay individuals to make fraudulent VRS phone calls and to process fraudulent VRS phone calls that were billed to the FCC through VRS provider Viable Communications.

Each faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. Sentencing is set for June 29.

To date, 11 individuals have pleaded guilty to their roles in defrauding the FCC.

Source

Deaf juror should have been excluded in drowning trial, Ohio Supreme Court rules….

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled today that a judge should have excused a deaf juror in a murder case involving a Fairlawn man.

The court’s decision means a new trial will be held for Scott Speer, who was accused of murdering his friend, James Barnett of Barberton.

Barnett, 39, drowned in Lake Erie after falling off —or, as prosecutors alleged, being pushed from — a boat into choppy nighttime waters near Port Clinton.

Speer, who was on the boat, was convicted in October 2007 of aggravated vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter related to the 2002 drowning death of Barnett. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

A jury acquitted Speer, 44, of aggravated murder and murder.

Speer appealed his conviction and sentence.

The 6th District Court of Appeals concluded he didn’t receive a fair trial because a hearing-impaired woman was on the jury and she couldn’t fully comprehend the vocal nuances in Speer’s 911 call, a key piece of evidence in the case.

Prosecutors appealed that decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. Speer was released on bond following the decision.

Justice Terrence O’Donnell, writing for the 5-2 court majority, found that the female juror’s hearing impairment ”directly affected her ability to perceive and evaluate that evidence because she only read the colloquy [of the 911 call] from a real-time transcription.”

Source

Deaf Owned KFC in Egypt – what an inspiration!

I have never come across something as successful as this in my life, but especially coming from this country – It has got me thinking….. how advanced are they to give the deaf people living in Egypt – the same rights as the hearing people there.

Are we the western people that far behind or unbeknown to us there are many other deaf own business running under a brand company?

Let us know!

Plane Ban Deaf Traveller

Can this really happened?

A DEAF traveller last night blasted airline staff for refusing to let her on a plane until she proved she couldn’t hear. Lesley Stewart arrived at the easyJet check-in desk for her flight to Edinburgh with her hearing assist dog Molly. Staff asked the shocked 49-year-old to prove she had a disability…read on

Don’t Let Them Take Your ID!

Every so often I get emails from members from across several of my site, begging me to help them as they have been scammed for money. It can be very distressing especially when I cannot help them.

But I can help by providing information for you, the most important thing to remember is that there is NO such a thing as free money.  So please be very very careful when people say you have won some money, whether it is from the lotto or from someone who has died and left you the money!

The chance are you don’t even know the person, however if you have already been scammed then I would advise you to report it to the police. The more we reported it, the better chance it will be of them getting caught.  Don’t be embarrassed, we all have been fooled by them once at a time…..Okay you don’t have listen to just me, listen to this smart guy from the video below.

Take Care!

Augusta pays deaf man to settle lawsuit

The city will pay $5,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a deaf man who claims city police discriminated against him by refusing to call an interpreter.

Wayne Draper, 44, of Augusta sued the city and the Augusta Police Department, claiming they violated his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Maine Human Rights Act….read on

Deaf Woman Escapes Fire…by By Jumping Through Second Story Window.

Cindy Chavarria escaped a massive fire in her Pinon Trails apartment building with only a few scratches, a feat not possible without a special smoke detector.“She wouldn’t have been able to hear anything. She wouldn’t have known anything. She’s really grateful,” said Jazmin Espinoza, who translated her sister’s sign language.Chavarria is deaf and lives alone. She said her smoke detector, equipped for the hearing impaired, alerted her to the fire.“She first noticed it when she saw the fire alarm flashing,” said Espinoza.Chavarria opened her door, saw the shooting flames and jumped through her second floor window, in fear for her life.“She was really scared,” said Espinoza. “She didn’t know what to think. She was like… ‘I don’t know if I was going to make it out on time.’ She didn’t know what to do.”….read more

IP-Relay Finally on iPhone

The day has finally arrived for thousand of deaf people who own an iPhone – Now you will be able to make IP-Relay calls via your iPhone!

Can you imagine making calls in the cafe, at the airport, in the park or anywhere else?

A deaf Christchurch fraudster who sent text messages pretending she was mortgage magnate Mike Pero defrauded more than $130,000 from Christchurch’s deaf community.

Christine Doreen Ticehurst, 40, stole $84,000 from deaf couple Debra Jamieson and Michael King by pretending to assist them build a house….read on

Deaf woman killed by bus during safety test-drive

Authorities from the Detroit Police Department reported, “a city worker test-driving a bus for safety” struck a woman as she was crossing the road at 6:30 a.m. Reports stated the woman, identified as 49-year-old Ethel Davis, was hit by the DDOT bus at the junction of Livernois and Courtland….read on