Arrests made in massive, $390/hour Video Relay Service scam

November 20, 2009

Dealing with some technology is challenging enough for the hearing-impaired without scammers taking advantage of federal dollars meant to help them. That's exactly what has happened with the Federal Communications Commission's Video Relay Service (VRS), however, and 26 people were arrested Thursday for scheming to steal "tens of millions of dollars" from the program.

VRS was first launched in Texas in the mid-90s as a way for the deaf to communicate via telephone. A hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired person could use a video phone to dial into a VRS service equipped with sign language interpreters, who would then dial through to a hearing recipient. The interpreters would read the caller's signing over video and speak it to the recipient to help facilitate the call.