Satellite : Fraud case a clue to why Dish cut ties with retailers

[rajub4u]

Fraud case a clue to why Dish cut ties with retailers Dish Network hasn't disclosed the details of why it has terminated relationships with a couple of dozen retailers of late, but a recently resolved case provides a glimpse of the problem.
Joseph Masek, operator of Satellites & More in Santa Ana, Calif., was sentenced in August to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $633,000 of restitution to Dish for falsifying customer account information as a way to illegally obtain commissions and equipment from Dish.
Dish, then called EchoStar, got suspicious when an installation representative reported in June 2005 receiving back 37 programming cards that couldn't be delivered by United Parcel Service.
The cards, issued by Dish, communicate with a set-top box and descramble signals so a subscriber can view the program package he or she signed up for.
Dish found that the cards matched the names of customers of Satellites & More, but the addresses and phone numbers were invalid or nonexistent.
Dish said it subsequently found that Satellites & More had opened 4,294 customer accounts - and received about $2.5 million of hardware and commissions from Dish - based on existing customers or prospective customers who never subscribed.
Some of the accounts were set up for automated payment with prepaid Visa gift cards that Dish believes Masek used so Dish could receive payment just long enough for him to collect a full commission on the fraudulent account.
Dish contacted the Denver FBI in July 2005, and Masek admitted that he created many of the accounts based on fraudulent information.