AT & T has incited workers to create fake accounts to increase the number of subscribers to DirecTV Now

AT & T Inc. has lobbied its employees for that they are creating fake accounts for its streaming TV service DirecTV Now in order to increase the number of subscribers before its merger with Time Warner Inc in 2018, according to a lawsuit accusing the telecommunications giant of misleading investors.

The company has learned and encouraged employees across the country to secretly add the product to existing client accounts without their knowledge, according to an amended complaint filed Friday.

Employees notably pretended to waive the $ 35 fee paid by customers to upgrade their cell phones while charging them and creating up to three fake DirecTV Now accounts, investors said, including the Steamfitters Local 449 Pension Plan, lawsuit, originally filed in Manhattan federal court in April.

"We plan to fight these unfounded complaints in court," said AT & T in a statement.

AT & T misled shareholders about the growth of DirecTV Now while it was preparing to merge with Time Warner, informing investors that the company was growing while subscribers actually left the service, according to the lawsuit.

"This apparent success was a complete mirage," said the investors. "The information provided by several former employees of AT & T and its subsidiaries across the country collectively confirm a large-scale fraud perpetrated at the highest levels of the company."

Bloomberg