Newport man fined more than $45,000 for false distress call to Coast Guard

A Newport man has been sentenced to 60 months of probation and fined more than $45,000 for making a false report of distress to the Coast Guard.

Joe D. Mills Jr. pleaded guilty to making the false statement on Sept. 20, 2005, from his front yard with a handheld VHF radio.

Federal court records said he fraudulently reported a vessel taking on water to the Coast Guard. The distress call was recorded. Mills said he then turned off his radio and went back into his house. The Coast Guard tried to call Mills back, but he did not answer. The Coast Guard searched for the vessel as did local fire and rescue people.

The vessel was never found, and the Coast Guard launched an investigation and determined that the call was a hoax.

Mills was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Wilmington this week. The fine was $45,292.78.

According to Section 303 of the U.S. Communications Act passed in 1934, any radio operator, whether at home, on a boat or in a business, is required to allow an FCC agent to inspect his radio equipment at any time. To deny this could result in a maximum fine of $7,000. The Studds Act, which was passed in November 1990, says that a false distress call is a class D Felony, and a convicted hoax caller is subject to a fine of up to $250,000 and up to six years in prison. The caller might also have to reimburse the Coast Guard for the cost of the search. The caller is also subject to an FCC civil fine of up to $8,000.

If a hoax caller is not caught the taxpayers pay the cost of the search. According to the Coast Guard, it costs about $4,244 an hour to operate C-130 aircraft cost, about $4,400 an hour to operate Coast Guard helicopters, about $1,550 an hour to operate Coast Guard cutters and $300 to $400 an hour to to operate small boats.

The Coast Guard says it needs the assistance of the public to reduce hoax calls. This can be done by:

n Locking radios in a secure place when not in use.

n Teaching children that unauthorized use puts people in danger.

n Reporting suspected hoaxers through the Coast Guard tip line at 1-800-264-5980.

All calls are confidential. Tipsters can remain anonymous if they choose.