Media Bureau Issues HDO Over 'Likely Illusory' Station Sale
The FCC Media Bureau designated the licenses of several low-power radio and television stations for hearing over allegations owners Jennifer Juarez and Antonio Guel filed false transfers with the agency to avoid including the stations in a bankruptcy filing, didn’t…
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disclose that buyer (Juarez) was the seller’s (Guel’s) niece and at the time a minor, and Guel continued to operate the stations for years after the 2010 sale, according to a hearing designation order in Friday’s Daily Digest. Guel also didn’t disclose for years that he's a Mexico citizen, likely violating the agency’s foreign- ownership rules. Guel, the former president of and 100% direct owner of Hispanic Christian Community Network, “apparently misrepresented material facts and orchestrated an illusory transaction” to transfer seven stations to Juarez, the order said. “The record developed so far raises substantial and material questions of whether Juarez controls the Stations, or whether HCCN and/or Guel exercise de facto control over the Stations,” the order said. The Media Bureau filing also includes an order to show cause why a cease and desist order barring Guel from continuing to operate the stations shouldn’t be issued. HCCN and Juarez took years to notify the FCC that their 2010 deal had been consummated, and HCCN made several filings on the stations’ behalf during that time, the HDO said. In a 2018 response to an FCC inquiry Juarez told the agency that Guel financed her purchase of the stations and had “an understanding” that HCCN wouldn’t file the consummation of the deal until Juarez finished paying for the station. “Publicly available information suggests she was a minor as of the March 2010 asset purchase agreement," the order said. “Filing an application in the name of a surrogate is deceptive and denies the Commission and the public the opportunity to review the qualifications of the real party who will control and operate a station,” said the order. Juarez and Guel have 20 days to respond to the order. Juarez and HCCN couldn’t be reached for comment.