Nevada Internet Company Owner Pleads Guilty in $7.8 Million Theft From Federal Rural Broadband Project That Promised to Connect 4,884 People

The former owner of a Reno internet company pleaded guilty Tuesday to laundering money taken from a federally funded high-speed internet project in rural Nevada, a case in which prosecutors say more than $7.8 million meant for the project ended up in his personal bank account and then in cryptocurrency.

Stephen A. Kromer, who owned Uprise LLC, pleaded guilty in federal court in Nevada to one count of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada. Sentencing is set for March 9, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

What the Broadband Grant Promised

The Agriculture Department announced the award on July 28, 2022, through its ReConnect Program, which pays for high-speed internet in rural areas. The department's award chart lists a grant of $27,154,596 to Uprise LLC.

According to that chart, the money was to "deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network" that "will connect 4,884 people, 130 businesses, 22 farms and seven public schools to high-speed internet in Pershing County." The chart says Uprise would offer 200-megabit and one-gigabit service and that the project "will serve people in the Lovelock Indian Colony and several socially vulnerable communities in Pershing County." Lovelock is about 100 miles northeast of Reno.

The Agriculture Department ended its funding for the project in April 2025, Reno station KRNV reported at the time. In a statement to the station, the department said a March 2025 field audit found "significant contract violations including failure to meet the matching funds requirement, a real property purchase duplicated, and construction equipment purchased that was significantly lower than the cost submitted" for matching credit.

How the Money Moved

As a condition of the federal grant, Uprise agreed to put about $9 million toward the project's cost, prosecutors said. The company got that money from the State of Nevada and deposited it in an account set aside only for the Lovelock Project and overseen by the Agriculture Department.

From May 2024 through November 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Kromer moved more than $7.8 million from that account to his personal bank account and falsely recorded the transfers as project expenses. The indictment alleged he then moved the money into accounts at several cryptocurrency exchanges, where it was converted into cryptocurrency.

"Stealing public funds intended to connect rural communities is a direct assault on the taxpayers of Nevada," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah. Alida Ceballos, the Agriculture Department's Rural Development director for Nevada, said the plea "would not have happened without an all-of-government approach to tackling fraud."

From 16 Counts to One

Court records show a grand jury returned the indictment on June 10, 2026, charging Kromer in counts 1 through 16. He pleaded not guilty to all 16 counts at his arraignment on July 8, and the government asked that the case be designated complex, according to the minutes of that hearing. The docket records a change of plea on Oct. 27.

The announcement does not say whether any of the money has been recovered or whether restitution is part of the plea deal. The plea agreement was not publicly available on the court docket as of Wednesday morning. Kromer is represented by Michael J. Kennedy and Lauren D. Gorman, according to the docket.

The FBI and the Agriculture Department's Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

Sources: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Nevada, press release (Oct. 27, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/northern-nevada-business-owner-pleads-guilty-embezzling-nearly-8-million-federal-grant ; Docket, United States v. Kromer, No. 2:26-cr-00110 (D. Nev.): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73466727/united-states-v-kromer/ ; USDA ReConnect award chart (July 28, 2022): https://www.rd.usda.gov/sites/default/files/07.28.2022-high-speed-internet-Chart-OEA-FINAL-REVISED-722-PM.pdf ; KRNV News 4 (April 7, 2025): https://mynews4.com/on-your-side/ask-joe/ask-joe-usda-cuts-ties-with-uprise-pulls-27-million-in-federal-funding