Friday, Dec. 18, 2009
Viable executives arraigned
Deaf-services company's president, others plead not guilty to charges
by Kevin James Shay | Staff Writer

John T.C. Yeh, president of Rockville deaf-services company Viable, along with three other company executives, pleaded not guilty Monday in a New Jersey federal court to charges that include conspiracy to defraud the government.

A jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22, with pretrial motions due Jan. 11, according to court documents. A motion hearing is slated for Feb. 8.

In mid-November, federal authorities charged the Viable executives and leaders of six other companies nationwide in a six-count indictment. Charges include conspiracy to defraud the federal government out of tens of millions of dollars, submitting false claims and mail fraud.

The executives fraudulently billed the Federal Communications Commission about $390 an hour to interpret calls between deaf and hearing people, federal prosecutors said. The calls, generally referred to as "r calls," "rest calls" or "run calls," were illegitimate calls often made by friends or relatives that would be billed to the FCC's video relay service fund, officials said.

Authorities called Viable the central company in the alleged scheme, directly linked via business arrangements to five of the six other companies involved.

Other Viable executives who also pleaded not guilty this week are vice president of corporate strategy Joseph Yeh, a brother of John Yeh; assistant vice president for business development Anthony Mowl; and human relations manager Donald Tropp.

Stanley Reed, a principal with Lerch, Early and Brewer in Bethesda who is representing Joseph Yeh, said this week that his client is "presumed innocent," and he was waiting to read discovery materials from the government before commenting further.

Reed's areas of practice include white collar crime, complex civil litigation and professional responsibility.

Paul Kemp, a partner in the Rockville office of Venable, is representing John Yeh. He could not be reached this week for comment.

Kemp's areas of practice include white collar crime, commercial litigation and SEC investigations.

Reed and Kemp have worked on cases together for many years, Reed said.

Attorneys for Mowl and Tropp could not be reached this week for comment.

Viable has been under a cloud since a June visit by federal investigators. The company also has been hit with lawsuits in federal and state courts by employees seeking back payment of wages.