Grand Jury Indicts Northern Nevada Man for Embezzling Nearly $8 Million in Funding From Broadband Infrastructure Project

LAS VEGAS - A federal grand jury today returned a 16-count indictment that charged the owner of Uprise, LLC, a former internet service provider located in Reno, Nevada, with felonies in connection with an alleged embezzlement from a federal grant project. Stephen A. Kromer (48) is charged with felony counts of embezzlement of government property, federal program theft, money laundering and presenting a false document, all in connection with his alleged embezzlement of more than $7.8 million from a federally funded high-speed internet construction project near Lovelock, Nevada.

"Today's 16-count indictment against the defendant is serious; and should send a clear message that the U.S. Attorney's Office remains committed to ending corruption," said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. "The Public Corruption Strike Force within the U.S. Attorney's Office is working closely with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partner agencies to root out corruption, including theft of federal program grant funds."

"Through multiple fraudulent schemes, the defendant clearly exploited trust to line his pockets," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office. "The grants were intended to enhance broadband infrastructure in rural communities in Nevada. Instead, the defendant brazenly misappropriated these funds for personal gain."

"We want to thank our partners at the Department of Justice and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for tackling fraud head on and being essential stakeholders in stopping waste, fraud, and abuse of federal funds," said USDA Rural Development State Director Alida Ceballos. "From Day 1, USDA and DOJ have worked hand-in-hand to bring bad actors to justice and ensure those who exploit taxpayer dollars are held accountable."

According to court documents, Kromer owned Uprise in 2022 when it applied for a federal grant under the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) ReConnect Program, proposing to construct a $36-million internet project that would provide access to high-speed internet to users living or working in rural Lovelock, Nevada, about 100 miles northeast of Reno. As part of the funding for the project, Uprise agreed to contribute $9 million toward the cost of the project. In June 2023, the USDA awarded Uprise a $27 million ReConnect grant to fund the Lovelock Project and required Uprise to deposit its $9 million share of the funding into a separate financial account called the Pledged Deposit Account (PDA) that restricted withdrawals to payments for costs of the Lovelock Project as approved by the USDA.

According to the Indictment, Kromer embezzled about $7.8 million of funding from the Lovelock Project by withdrawing the funds from the PDA and depositing them into his personal bank account via 32 wire transfers he made from the account between May and November 2024. The Indictment alleges that with each transfer Kromer caused false accounting entries to be made in the books and records of Uprise to make it appear that the withdrawals were made to pay for the costs of the Lovelock Project when, in truth and fact, they were not. Kromer then submitted the false information to the USDA. The Indictment further alleges that Kromer disguised and concealed the proceeds of the embezzlement by moving the proceeds from his personal bank account into accounts he held at various cryptocurrency exchanges where he converted more than $6.2 million of the proceeds from U.S. dollars into cryptocurrency.

Kromer is charged with one count of theft of government property; four counts of federal program theft; five counts of money laundering; five counts of monetary transactions in criminally derived property; and one count of using a false document. An initial appearance has been scheduled for June 24, 2026, before United States Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah. If convicted, Kromer faces the maximum statutory penalty of 50 years' imprisonment on the federal theft charges and more than 100 years' imprisonment on the money laundering and false document charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, and Nevada State Director Alida Ceballos for USDA Rural Development made the announcement.

The FBI and USDA Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Myhre and Skyler Pearson are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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