In the Matter of Shane Kelly

                         Federal Communications Commission           DA 26-1132 

                                    Before the 
                         Federal Communications Commission 
                              Washington, D.C. 20554 
  
 In the Matter of                            

 Shane Kelly                                File No.:  EB-FIELDSCR-23-00034960 
 Hyannis, Massachusetts                     NAL/Acct. No.:  2024010010 
                                            FRN:  0035338375 
                                         
                              FORFEITURE ORDER 
 
Adopted:  October 22, 2026                       Released:  October 22, 2026 
  
 By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau: 
  
 I.    INTRODUCTION 
       1.    We impose a penalty of $20,000 against Shane Kelly (Kelly), for operating an 
 unauthorized radio station, known as “The Test,” on 87.9 MHz in Hyannis, Massachusetts (Station), by 
 which Kelly willfully and knowingly did, caused, or suffered to be done pirate radio broadcasting, on 
 June 6, 2023.  Operating an unauthorized, or pirate, radio station is illegal under the Communications Act 
 of 1934, as amended (Communications Act or Act),1 and undermines the primary mission of the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) to manage radio spectrum.  Such illegal operations 
can interfere with licensed communications, including authorized broadcasts and communications by 
public safety entities.  Moreover, such illegal operations pose a danger to the public because they interfere 
with licensed stations that inform their listeners of important public safety messages, including 
Emergency Alert System transmissions that provide vital information regarding weather and other 
dangers to the public.2  On April 26, 2024, the Commission issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for 
 Forfeiture proposing a $20,000 forfeiture against Kelly for his apparent willful and knowing violation of 
 section 511 of the Act by engaging in pirate radio broadcasting.3  After reviewing Kelly’s response to the 
NAL,4 we find no reason to cancel, withdraw, or reduce the proposed penalty, and we therefore affirm the 
 $20,000 forfeiture proposed in the NAL.       
II.   BACKGROUND 
      A.    Legal Framework 
      2.    On January 24, 2020, Congress passed the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through 
Enforcement Act (PIRATE Act), which was subsequently codified as section 511 of the Communications 
Act.5  Section 511 states that any person who willfully and knowingly does or causes or suffers to be done 
 any pirate radio broadcasting shall be subject to a fine of not more than $2,000,000 and not more than 

                          
 1 47 U.S.C. § 511. 
 2 See Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System, Report and Order, 
37 FCC Rcd 11844, 11845, para. 4 (2022). 
 3 See Shane Kelly, Hyannis, Massachusetts, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 39 FCC Rcd. 4526 
 (2024)(NAL).  The NAL includes a more complete discussion of the facts and history of this case and is incorporated 
herein by reference.  
 4 Letter from Shane Kelly (May. 19, 2024) (on file in EB-FIELDSCR-23-00034960) (NAL Response).   
 5 Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act, Pub. L. 116-109, 134 Stat. 3 (2020) (codified at 47 
U.S.C. § 511). 

  

                         Federal Communications Commission           DA 26-1132 

$100,000 for each day on which an offense occurs.6  Both of these figures are subject to annual inflation 
 adjustments.7  Section 511 defines pirate radio broadcasting as “the transmission of communications on 
spectrum frequencies between 535 and 1705 kilohertz, inclusive, or 87.7 and 108 megahertz, inclusive, 
without a license issued by the Commission, but does not include unlicensed operations in compliance 
with part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations.”8  Part 15, among other requirements, states that 
unlicensed operators in the FM band must not transmit over a certain low-power limit.9   
      B.    Factual Background
      3.    On June 6, 2023, field agents (Agents) from the FCC’s Boston Field Office (Boston
Office) monitored the frequency 87.9 MHz in Hyannis, Massachusetts, and, using direction-finding 
 techniques, traced the source of the signal to {[ ]} Lincoln Road, Hyannis, Massachusetts (Lincoln 
 Road Site).10  The Agents took field strength measurements of the signal and determined that it exceeded 
the limits for operation under part 15 of the Commission’s Rules.11  Agents heard the Station identified as 
 “87.9 The Test.”  A review of Commission records revealed no authorization for any FM broadcast 
 station to operate at or near the Lincoln Road Site on any frequency.  Agents later consulted public 
records and discovered that Kelly was the owner of the home located at the Lincoln Road Site.12 
       4.    On July 11, 2023, Agents spoke with Kelly at the Lincoln Road Site.  At the time of the
Agents’ visit to the Lincoln Road Site, the Station was not operating.  Kelly acknowledged operating the 
Station on 87.9 FM.  He said he has been intermittently operating an FM station as a hobby and admitted 
 he did not have a license to operate a radio station on any frequency.  On December 12, 2023, Agents 
 from the Boston Office monitored the frequency 87.9 MHz and observed no broadcasts on this frequency. 
 Using direction-finding techniques, the Agents determined that no broadcast signals were coming from 
 the Lincoln Road Site on any other frequency. 
       5.    On April 26, 2024, the Commission issued the NAL which found Kelly apparently liable
 for pirate radio broadcasting on 87.9 MHz in Hyannis, Massachusetts on June 6, 2023, and proposed a 
 penalty of $20,000.  The NAL ordered Kelly, within 30 days, either to pay the proposed forfeiture amount 
 or submit evidence or arguments in response to the NAL that no forfeiture should be imposed or that some 
 lesser amount should be assessed.13  


 6 47 U.S.C. § 511(a)-(b).  Prior to the passage of the PIRATE Act, the maximum monetary penalty for pirate radio 
transmissions was $151,005.  See 47 CFR §1.80(b)(9)(ii) (2019); see also Acerome Jean Charles, Notice of 
 Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 34 FCC Rcd 12744 (2019) (proposing a penalty of $151,005), consent decree 
 adopted, Order 35 FCC Rcd 6878 (2020).  In 2020, that maximum limit was increased to $2,000,000.  See 47 U.S.C. 
 § 511.
 7 See 47 CFR § 1.80(b)(6) (setting the current inflation adjusted statutory maximum for a violation of 47 U.S.C. § 
 511(a) at $2,453,218 and of 47 U.S.C. § 511(b) at $122,661); Amendment of Section 1.80(b) of the Commission’s 
Rules, Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties to Reflect Inflation, Order, DA 25-5, 2025 WL 100529, *7 at Table 5 
to Paragraph (b)(12)(ii) (EB Jan. 3, 2025); see also Annual Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties to Reflect 
Inflation, 90 Fed. Reg. 3710 (Jan. 15, 2025) (setting Jan. 15, 2025 as the effective date for the increases). 
 8 47 U.S.C. § 511(h). 
 9 47 CFR § 15.239(b) (stating that the field strength of any emissions in the 88-108 MHz band shall not exceed 250 
microvolts/meter at 3 meters). 
 10 Material set off by double brackets {[ ]} is confidential and is redacted from the public version of this document. 
 11 Id. 
 12 Town of Barnstable, Assessing Division, Property Card for the Lincoln Road Site, 
https://townofbarnstable.us/PropertyRecordCards/{[ ]} (last visited Jan. 10, 2024). 
 13 2024 NAL, 39 FCC Rcd at 4529, para. 12. 

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                         Federal Communications Commission           DA 26-1132 
  

      6.    On May 19, 2024, Kelly filed a timely response to the NAL.14  In his NAL Response, 
Kelly did not dispute any of the facts or legal conclusions set forth in the NAL and admitted to being the 
operator of the Station, stating that he will “not engage in further unlicensed pirate radio broadcasting 
again.”  He also requested dismissal of the NAL or leniency based on his shutting down of the Station and 
disposing of his broadcasting equipment.15      
 III.  DISCUSSION 
       7.    The Commission proposed a forfeiture in this case in accordance with section 511 of the 
 Act,16 section 1.80 of the Commission’s rules,17 and the Commission’s Forfeiture Policy Statement.18  
 When we assess forfeitures, section 1.80 of the Commission’s rules requires that we take into account the 
 “nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation and, with respect to the violator, the degree of 
 culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice may require.”19  
 We may adjust a forfeiture downward for minor violations, good faith or voluntary disclosure, a history of 
overall compliance, or an inability to pay.20  Kelly’s NAL Response does not dispute any of the factual or 
legal conclusions in the NAL.21  Instead, the NAL Response asked for a dismissal of the NAL or leniency 
based on Kelly’s current and future compliance with Section 511 of the Act and his disposal of his 
broadcasting equipment.22  Further, although Kelly states that he dismantled his broadcasting equipment 
 by July 2023,23 Kelly does not provide any documentation or set forth specific facts to support such 
 statement.  Accordingly, after considering Kelly’s NAL Response and all of the applicable factors, we 
 decline Kelly’s request to dismiss or reduce the proposed forfeiture.   Based on the record before us, 
including the undisputed evidence gathered by Agents, and after considering all of the relevant statutory 
factors, we find that Kelly willfully and knowingly did, caused or suffered to be done pirate radio 
broadcasting on June 6, 2023, in violation of section 511 of the Act.  Kelly, therefore, is liable for a total 
forfeiture of $20,000. 
IV.   CONCLUSION 
      8.    Based on the record before us and in light of all the applicable statutory factors, we 
affirm the NAL’s findings that Kelly willfully and knowingly did or caused pirate radio broadcasting in 
violation of section 511 of the Act by operating an unauthorized radio station on 87.9 MHz in Hyannis, 
Massachusetts, on June 6, 2023.  Accordingly, we decline to cancel or reduce the forfeiture proposed in 
the NAL and assess the full forfeiture amount of $20,000.24   


                          
 14 See NAL Response.   
 15 See id. at 1. 
 16 47 U.S.C. § 511. 
 17 47 CFR § 1.80. 
 18 Forfeiture Policy Statement, 12 FCC Rcd at 17101, para. 27. 
 19 47 CFR § 1.80(b)(11). 
 20 Id.; see also Forfeiture Policy Statement, 12 FCC Rcd at 17101, para. 27. 
 21 NAL Response at 1. 
 22 See id. 
 23 Id. 
 24 Any entity that is a “Small Business Concern” as defined in the Small Business Act (Pub. L. 85-536, as amended) 
may avail itself of rights set forth in that Act, including rights set forth in 15 U.S.C. § 657, “Oversight of Regulatory 
Enforcement,” in addition to other rights set forth herein. 

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                         Federal Communications Commission           DA 26-1132 
  

V.    ORDERING CLAUSES  
      9.    Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to section 511 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 511, 
and sections 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, and 1.80 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 
1.80, Shane Kelly is LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of twenty thousand 
dollars ($20,000) for willfully and knowingly violating section 511 of the Act.   
      10.   Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in section 1.80 of the 
Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 1.80, within thirty (30) calendar days after the release of this Forfeiture 
Order.  Kelly shall send electronic notification of payment to the Office of the Field Director, 
Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, at field@fcc.gov on the date said payment is 
 made.  If the forfeiture is not paid within the period specified, the case may be referred to the U.S. 
 Department of Justice for enforcement of the forfeiture pursuant to section 504(a) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 
 504(a). 
       11.   In order for Shane Kelly to pay the proposed forfeiture, Shane Kelly shall notify the 
 Office of the Field Director at field@fcc.gov of his intent to pay, whereupon an invoice will be posted in 
 the Commission’s Registration System (CORES) at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do.  Payment of 
 the forfeiture must be made by credit card using CORES at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do, ACH 
 (Automated Clearing House) debit from a bank account, or by wire transfer from a bank account.  The 
Commission no longer accepts forfeiture payments by check or money order.  Below are instructions that 
payors should follow based on the form of payment selected:25 

    •  Payment by wire transfer must be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank 
       TREAS/NYC, and Account Number 27000001.  In the OBI field, enter the FRN(s) captioned 
       above and the letters “FORF.”  In addition, a completed Form 15926 or printed CORES form27 
       must be faxed to the Federal Communications Commission at 202-418-2843 or e-mailed to 
       RROGWireFaxes@fcc.gov on the same business day the wire transfer is initiated.  Failure to 
       provide all required information in Form 159 or CORES may result in payment not being 
       recognized as having been received.  When completing FCC Form 159 or CORES, enter the 
      Account Number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID), enter the letters “FORF” in block 
      number 24A (payment type code), and enter in block number 11 the FRN(s) captioned above 
      (Payor FRN).28  For additional detail and wire transfer instructions, go to 
       https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees/wire-transfer.  

    •  Payment by credit card must be made by using CORES at 
       https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do.  To pay by credit card, log in using the FCC Username 
       associated to the FRN captioned above.  If payment must be split across FRNs, complete this 
       process for each FRN.  Next, select “Manage Existing FRNs | FRN Financial | Bills & Fees” from 
       the CORES Menu, then select FRN Financial and the view/make payments option next to the 
       FRN.  Select the “Open Bills” tab and find the bill number associated with the NAL Acct. No.  
       The bill number is the NAL Acct. No. with the first two digits excluded (e.g., NAL 1912345678 
       would be associated with FCC Bill Number 12345678).  After selecting the bill for payment, 
       choose the “Pay by Credit Card” option.  Please note that there is a $24,999.99 limit on credit 
       card transactions. 

                          
 25 For questions regarding payment procedures, please contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk by phone 
at 1-877-480-3201 (option #6). 
 26 FCC Form 159 is accessible at https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees/fcc-remittance-advice-form-159. 
 27 Information completed using the Commission’s Registration System (CORES) does not require the submission of 
an FCC Form 159.  CORES is accessible at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do. 
 28 Instructions for completing the form may be obtained http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form159/159.pdf. 

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                         Federal Communications Commission           DA 26-1132 
  

    •  Payment by ACH must be made by using CORES at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do.  To 
       pay by ACH, log in using the FCC Username associated to the FRN captioned above.  If payment 
       must be split across FRNs, complete this process for each FRN.  Next, select “Manage Existing 
       FRNs | FRN Financial | Bills & Fees” on the CORES Menu, then select FRN Financial and the 
       view/make payments option next to the FRN. Select the “Open Bills” tab and find the bill number 
       associated with the NAL Acct. No.  The bill number is the NAL Acct. No. with the first two 
      digits excluded (e.g., NAL 1912345678 would be associated with FCC Bill Number 12345678).  
      Finally, choose the “Pay from Bank Account” option.  Please contact the appropriate financial 
       institution to confirm the correct Routing Number and the correct account number from which 
       payment will be made and verify with that financial institution that the designated account has 
       authorization to accept ACH transactions. 
       12.   Any request for making full payment over time under an installment plan should be sent 
 to:  Chief Financial Officer – Financial Operations, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street 
 NE, Washington, D.C. 20554.  Questions regarding payment procedures should be directed to the 
 Financial Operations Group Help Desk by telephone, 1-877-480-3201, or by e-mail, 
 ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. 
       13.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Forfeiture Order shall be sent by first 
class mail and certified mail, return receipt requested, to Shane Kelly at {[ ]} Lincoln Road, Hyannis, 
Massachusetts, 03601. 
       
       
                                     FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
                                      
                                      
                                      
                                      
                                     Hunter P. Deeley 
                                     Chief, Enforcement Bureau 


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