'There has to be an accounting': Former AT&T lawyer says company systemically overcharged neediest schools [telecom]

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Theodore Marcus left AT&T after he came to believe the telecom giant was ignoring the rules of E-Rate, a federal program that offers low-priced phone and Internet service to schools based on need

By Laura Meckler and Douglas MacMillan

Theodore Marcus once was an in-house lawyer for AT&T, tasked with reviewing whether the telecom giant was overcharging schools and libraries for Internet and telephone service.

Marcus came to believe that AT&T did not charge low prices required by law, misled the government about its compliance with the rules of a federal program and then rebuffed his concerns. A few months before he left AT&T, Marcus handed what he thought was damning information to a lawyer suing the company, with the expectation that he might share in the payout if the suit was victorious.