Verizon New England, Inc., will pay a settlement to Massachusetts after allegedly overcharging for telecommunications services under its contract with the commonwealth, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Tuesday.
Verizon New England, a large cellphone provider, will pay approximately $1.3 million to the commonwealth. The settlement will resolve a lawsuit in Hampshire Superior Court. As part of the settlement, Verizon will have to make payments to cities and towns and any other parties involved with the alleged overbilling.
Verizon has a contract with Massachusetts that provides telephone service at specific prices to government agencies. Verizon sent bills to state-contracted customers that allegedly charged prices that exceeded the rates that were set forth in the contract.
The suit involved calls made locally, regionally and on business lines between September 2006 and October 2012.
The attorney general’s office and the inspector general became involved after a whistle-blower raised the allegations of overcharging in the state contract.