The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a $15,000 monetary forfeiture against a man for operating a pirate radio station in Worcester, MA.
According to a Forfeiture Order issued by the FCC in January, Vasco Oburoni was identified in 2016 as the operator of an unlicensed radio broadcast operation on 102.3 MHz, in violation of FCC rules. The Commission issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL), proposing the $15,000 forfeiture, ordering that Oburoni immediately cease his unlicensed radio operations and instructing him on how to respond to the NAL.
However, in his response, Oburoni failed to “include any substantive argument” that would allow the Commission to consider a reduction or cancellation of its propose forfeiture. Further, according to the FCC, Oburoni continued to operate his unlicensed radio station even after receiving notice from the Commission, a fact confirmed by FCC field agents using mobile direction-finding techniques.
