Kinetic announced yesterday it is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone found guilty of charges related to Kinetic copper-cable thefts in the areas around Clay County, KY. The company estimates more than 350 residential and small business customers in the Clay County area have lost service because of copper-cable thefts.
“This is a wide scale problem affecting many telecom providers in Kentucky,” said Susan Schraibman, regional president of Kinetic’s Kentucky Operations. “These crimes harm the community and small businesses. Copper-cable thefts increase costs and result in outages that prevent our customers from making phone calls, including to 911. The thefts also impact first responders, like police, fire, and emergency services, as well as businesses, and hospitals. In some cases, thieves damage fiber optic cable while stealing copper, which can cause widespread outages as well.”
In the Clay County area alone, thieves have reportedly cut and stolen Kinetic’s copper lines 66 times since January 1, according to the company. According to the FBI review, copper crimes can have results that impact communities when not resolved immediately. The FBI cited examples in Jackson, MS, where tornado sirens were left inoperable during an approaching tornado and in Pinal County, AZ, where farmers lost irrigation systems resulting in repair costs totaling $10 million as well as extensive crop losses.
Officials are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone found guilty of charges related to these Kinetic copper thefts. Anyone with information is urged to contact local law enforcement authorities or call Kinetic toll-free at 855-268-2211
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