The FCC Enforcement Bureau has issued a notice of apparent liability for $15,000 to a Florida pastor for operating an unlicensed broadcast on 89.1 and 102.1 FM in Broward County. The bureau says Kender Maxime was warned that operating the stations was illegal and that he could face further enforcement action, but disregarded those warnings.
The matter dates back to July 14, 2015, when the bureau’s Miami office received a complaint from the FAA that an unauthorized station was transmitting on 102.1 FM and was also “transmitting a spurious signal on a frequency assigned to US military aeronautical operations.”
Bureau agents traced the FM signal to a church building in Fort Lauderdale, and also observed the spurious signal. No one was at the church, but a sign indicated that Kinder Maxime was the pastor. Agents later spoke to Maxime at his office and advised him that his station was operating illegally, and he agreed to turn it off. But another complaint was received in November 2015; this time agents traced transmissions on 89.1 FM to Maxime’s office address.
After two written warnings were disregarded, the FCC now proposes a forfeiture of $15,000 — a significant bump up from the base fine of $10,000. Maxime has 30 days to pay or seek a reduction or cancellation of the forfeiture.
