The FCC imposed six financial penalties against alleged radio pirate operators last year.

It also issued 10 notices of apparent liability that may turn into fines, and it entered into three consent decree agreements with pirate operators, each with 20-year compliance plans. 

The commission sent to Congress its required annual report on its activity under the PIRATE Act of 2020. 

The biggest penalty was a fine issued last June against Fabrice Polynice for approximately $2.4 million for pirate radio broadcasting in North Miami, Fla., confirming an earlier notice of proposed liability. 

The commission called him one of the most egregious offenders and said he operated “Radio Touche Douce” since at least 2012. Polynice, also known as DJ Paz, had asked the commission to reduce his penalty, saying he couldn’t afford to pay.

Also on the list is a fine against Masner Beauplan for $920,000 issued in September for activity in the New York City area.

Other fines or settlements range from $6,000 to $325,000. The commission has not said that these or other pirate fines have actually been collected, other than in cases of consent decrees.

The current maximum fines are about $120,000 per day and $2.5 million total.

The Enforcement Bureau can also issue notices to property owners and property managers of apparent pirate radio broadcasts from their property. 

In 2025, it issued 28 such letters, including 17 related to the required pirate “sweeps” it conducts in cities where illegal broadcasting is most prevalent.

“Because pirate radio stations often cease operating for a period of time but then return, the bureau will continue to monitor the properties for which notices were provided and will initiate enforcement action where appropriate,” it told Congress.

The commission has hired six full-time employees under the PIRATE Act but did not hire any in the past year.

It also maintains a public database of its activities in pirate enforcement; that has been updated. It lists 185 individual actions since 2020, ranging from nonmonetary notice letters to large financial penalties. The majority of its enforcement activity has been in New York, Massachusetts and Florida.

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Four alleged radio pirates in the greater New York City area each face a possible $20,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission.

• The FCC said Jean Boncoeur broadcast “Radio Gold Stars” on 90.5 MHz out of a residence in Spring Valley, N.Y.
• It said Etzer Toussaint operated “Radio Model” or “Radio Tele Model” on 88.9 MHz, also in Spring Valley.
• It said Henderson Lennox Elcock allegedly operated “Wild FM” on 106.3 MHz in Brooklyn.
• And it said Robert Bekune operated “Powerhouse Radio” on 98.5 MHz in Irvington, N.J.

The FCC issued notices of apparent liability for a $20,000 forfeiture against each. They have 30 days to pay or to seek to have the penalty reduced or dismissed.

[Read more coverage of pirate radio.]

Federal law allows pirate fines of up to $122,000 per day and $2.4 million in total, but the FCC’s base forfeiture is $20,000.

In each case, the FCC cited a single day in January of last year when it detected on-air broadcasts, though in least two of these cases the broadcasts appear to have been going on for years. The FCC believes that Bekune has been involved in Powerhouse Radio since at least 2018, and it said Radio Model’s website states that Toussaint established the station in 2006.

The cases were investigated using a mix of direction-finding, audio recordings, and FCC review of the stations’ online streams, social media posts and property tax records.

The notices were issued by Patrick Webre, acting director of the Enforcement Bureau.

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