AT&T fined $7.75M after suspected drug traffickers slip charges into phone bills

AT&T will pay a $7.75 million fine for allowing suspected drug traffickers to add millions of dollars in bogus directory assistance charges to its customers' landline bills.

The extra charges of about $9 a month were discovered during an investigation of two Cleveland-area companies for drug-related crimes and money laundering, the Federal Communications Commission said Monday.

"A phone bill should not be a tool for drug traffickers, money launderers, and other unscrupulous third parties to fleece American consumers," FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement. The settlement will allow AT&T customers "charged for this sham service" to get their money back, he said.

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