Ex-CEO pleads guilty to fraud in Alaska fiber-optic project

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The former head of a company overseeing a fiber-optic project in Alaska has pleaded guilty to charges alleging she fraudulently induced two New York investment companies to finance the project.

The Anchorage Daily News reports 55-year-old Elizabeth Pierce pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and eight counts of aggravated identify theft.

The U.S. Department of Justice says the former CEO of Anchorage-based Quintillion used forged contracts to persuade investors to commit more than $250 million.

Authorities say she gave investors eight forged broadband capacity sales contracts and order forms between May 2015 and July 2017.

Pierce resigned from the company in August 2017 amid an internal investigation.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16.

Quintillion operates a fiber-optic system in Alaska that connects to the continental U.S.

Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com