Verizon Offers $25K Reward to Catch Suspects Behind California Fiber Cuts
Fiber cuts are disrupting internet, emergency services and other critical communications
WASHINGTON, August 12, 2026 – Verizon is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for a string of fiber cable cuts.
The company announced the reward Tuesday, days after a vandalized line severed service to thousands of customers across Los Angeles and Southern California. Verizon said crews restored service the same day, but the cuts have continued sporadically since, prompting the cash offer.
“Acts of network theft and vandalism represent a direct threat to the safety and security of our communities, emergency services, healthcare and all who rely on critical communications,” Verizon said in its statement. “Vandals also put their own lives at risk when perpetrating these crimes.”
Vandana Venkatesh, Verizon’s chief legal officer, was more blunt in a statement carried by NBC Los Angeles, calling the incidents criminal acts and pledging that the company would pursue “all avenues” to help law enforcement track down and convict those responsible.
As carriers have converted more of their networks to fiber, thieves hunting for copper to sell as scrap have continued targeting utility and telecom lines indiscriminately.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has pointed to that disconnect directly, noting that people committing these crimes are going after cable that doesn't even contain the copper they're looking for.
California leads the nation in these incidents by a wide margin, accounting for a third of all reported attacks in 2025.
Citing data from NCTA, a trade group funded by the broadband and cable industry, Verizon said California recorded 6,297 attacks on communications infrastructure that year.
Los Angeles alone accounted for 1,131 of those incidents. The trade group also cited repeated copper thefts in the Oakland Hills that knocked out both internet service and traffic signals. NCTA estimated the incidents in California resulted in $252.6 million in economic losses.
The reward announcement comes against the backdrop of a company reporting $138.2 billion in total 2025 revenue.
More than 23 states introduced legislation addressing infrastructure vandalism and scrap metal theft in 2026, with 13 states enacting new laws.
At the federal level, a bill known as H.R. 2784 would create new criminal penalties specifically for the intentional destruction of privately owned communications infrastructure.
Verizon said it backed a recently enacted California law AB 476 requiring junk dealers and recyclers to keep more detailed records of the metal they purchase, a measure intended to make it harder to offload stolen material.
