TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Communications Commission (NCC) fined Taiwan Star Telecom Corporation NT$16 million (US$506,000) on Wednesday (Aug. 2) for cooperating with fraud rings in China.

The fine is the highest for a telecom company in the history of the NCC, the Liberty Times reported. A Taiwan Star salesperson named Tsai (蔡) allegedly cooperated with three other individuals in setting up eight companies which applied for 24,000 phone numbers they then sold to Chinese scam groups.

Information from customs showed that one of the suspects had sent phone SIM cards to China 47 times, the report said. Taiwan Star had been negligent in supervising its staff as Tsai had taught his accomplices how to evade internal security precautions when applying for large amounts of phone numbers, according to the NCC.

As there are applications from four more companies still under investigation, there is a likelihood of additional fines and sanctions against Taiwan Star management, per the Liberty Times. Meanwhile, Tsai has resigned from the telecom company.