Two weeks after the Federal Communications Commissions launched an investigation into who was controlling a trio of El Paso, TX stations, their proposed sale to a Mexican broadcaster has been called off. A separate brokerage agreement has also been terminated according to filings by the station with the FCC. No explanation was given, but it appears a move to avoiding a lengthy investigation that ultimately could lead to the loss of the stations.
The Commission last month raised the possibility of revoking the licenses of regional Mexican “Ke Buena 97.5” KBNA-FM, Spanish AC KAMA (750), and the currently-silent KQBU (920) after it said an investigation into their ownership “raised more questions than it has resolved.”
In 2023, Lorena Margarita Pérez Toscano filed a $2,461,565 deal to buy the stations from a U.S. holding company with ties to Grupo Radio Mexico led by Luz Maria Rygaard. Because Toscano is a Mexican citizen, that triggered a deeper review by the Justice Department. It had no objection to the sale.
But the FCC’s simultaneous review left Media Bureau with questions about who has really been operating the stations. After months of trying to sort things out, the Bureau said “substantial and material questions” still exist regarding whether there was an unauthorized transfer of control of the stations, as well as whether they misrepresented the facts to the FCC. The Bureau last month referred the review to an administrative law judge.
The now-terminated programming agreement has drawn scrutiny. The Bureau says the arrangement wasn’t disclosed up front, but instead surfaced during its investigation, when station staff said that another entity, Pro Radio, was programming the airtime and selling the advertising on the stations. The Bureau says it was also given conflicting information about timing — saying the response asserted Pro Radio began programming in November 2021, while other evidence suggests Pro Radio was not formed in Texas until August 2022.
Adding to the complexity is the fact that Toscano and her two sisters own Pro Radio, according to the FCC. When it inquired about the programming arrangement, they were told it was “unwritten” with the three sisters telling the Bureau they weren’t aware the agreement needed to be in the stations’ public inspection files. The FCC also highlighted what it believes has been a significant debt relationship and family connections between Rygaard and Toscano — although it concedes not everything is clear, since proper documentation was never submitted.
The end of the programming agreement and termination of the sale plans mean the administrative law judge will no longer need to decide whether a sale should be approved. But the investigation into whether the licenses should be revoked continues. In a filing late week, Rygaard waived her company’s right to a hearing and instead submitted a written statement that denies the allegations.
“The specific errors at issue — a typographical error regarding the LMA start date, translation-related mislabeling of an employee as an officer on ownership reports, and a premature ownership report reflecting a post-consummation structure — lack any plausible motive to deceive, and are consistent with carelessness, not misrepresentation,” Rygaard tells the FCC.
In addition to ending the programming agreement with Pro Radio, Rygaard says she has also “severed all organizational, financial, and operational ties” with Pro Radio and its principals. Rygaard also asks the FCC to resolve the case through a consent decree rather than revocation, saying such agreements are the Commission’s typical approach in similar situations. She also argues that revoking the licenses would harm listeners, saying the stations provide Spanish-language programming to the El Paso community.