Money manager "Super" Mario Gabelli and his affiliates will pay $130m (€103m) to settle a civil fraud lawsuit that alleged Gabelli created fake small business to take part in auctions of cell phone spectrum licenses which he then sold on at a profit.

According to a US Department of Justice statement, Gabelli was accused of creating sham companies that would bid for cell phone licenses at a discount and then resold the licenses for a profit. The complaint names Gabelli and 38 other entities or individuals that participated in the alleged scheme over the course of eight Federal Communications Commission auctions from 1995 to 2000. The FCC had established rules that permitted only small or very small businesses to participate or to qualify for bidding credits and favorable financing in certain auctions.