In a dramatic turn for rural broadband efforts in northern Nevada, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced Friday that felony theft charges have been filed against Steven Allen Kromer, the owner of Uprise, LLC, for allegedly stealing millions of dollars earmarked for a fiber optic project in the Lovelock area.
Kromer faces 31 felony counts, including one count of theft between $25,000 and $100,000, and 30 counts exceeding $100,000, stemming from a 2023 agreement with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT). The state had contracted Uprise to build telecommunications infrastructure in and around Lovelock, allocating approximately $9.125 million for the project.
But between August and November 2024, investigators allege, Kromer moved large sums from project accounts into his personal bank account. The complaint, filed in Reno Justice Court, outlines transfers ranging from $155,000 to $450,000, nearly every few days over a three-month period. In total, millions in taxpayer funds meant to expand broadband access in Pershing County appear to have been misappropriated, with no fiber infrastructure ever delivered.
“This matter is one that I take very seriously,” Ford said. “These charges are the result of hard and dedicated work from my office’s investigators and prosecutors, and I have faith that justice will be served.”
The failed Uprise project has left Lovelock without the high-speed internet it was promised, while demand for broadband in rural Nevada continues to grow. In the wake of the collapse, a local provider, Lovelock Highspeed, has stepped forward, investing over $1.4 million of its own funds to begin laying fiber in the community. Owner John Schumacher is now seeking a $3 million grant to finish the job Uprise never started.
That push comes at a time when Nevada’s access to federal broadband funding is itself caught in political crossfire.
In Washington, D.C., U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen this week led a group of lawmakers urging the Trump Administration to lift its hold on Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funds. Nevada has been approved to receive $416 million through the program since January 2025, but distribution has stalled amid an administrative pause. The delay is affecting shovel-ready projects in rural and tribal areas.
“We write with concern regarding the NTIA’s recent announcement that it is delaying the BEAD program,” wrote Rosen and 11 Senate colleagues in a letter to the administration. “Time is of the essence, and our rural and tribal communities cannot afford more delays.”
Senator Rosen, who helped author the broadband provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, has secured more than $550 million in total for Nevada’s High Speed Nevada Initiative. That includes the Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program and critical updates to the FCC’s National Broadband Map to ensure Nevada receives its fair share of federal funding.
The juxtaposition of a failed state project in Lovelock and stalled federal aid underscores the growing tension between public demand for internet access and the slow machinery of oversight and implementation.
Meanwhile, Kromer’s case proceeds through the legal system. If convicted, he faces years in prison for one of the most egregious misuse-of-funds cases in recent Nevada infrastructure history.
This is a developing story.
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