MIAMI, United States (CMC) — A popular Haitian pirate radio station in Miami has been hit with a hefty fine by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FTC).

According to the Miami Herald, Radio Touche Douce has been described as “the pulse of the Haitian music industry in Miami, organising some of the most popular big-ticket parties while promoting bands and guiding konpa music fans to the next hit.”

However, the US federal government has accused the underground operation of illegally broadcasting from a shed in a North Miami backyard.

Fed up with the station’s “egregious, intentional and repeated violations,” the FCC has hit Touche Douce — and owner Fabrice Polynice, also known as DJ Paz — with a proposed US$144,344 fine, the largest amount allowed under FCC regulations, the Herald said.

Two commission officials told the Herald they can’t recall the last time a station was hit so hard.

“There’s nothing funny about pirate radio, which interferes with the lawful use of the airwaves and can disrupt public safety communications,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in announcing the decision against Touche Douce, which broadcasts in English and Haitian-Creole.

“The FCC won’t tolerate the unauthorized and illegal use of the radio spectrum,” Pai added. “Towards that end, I’ve made it a commission priority to crack down on pirate radio operations. And with today’s action, we again back up these words with action.”

Polynice, who has owned the station for 24 years, and Harold Sido, who owns the North Miami property with the shed along with his wife, Veronise, have 30 days to respond to the proposed fine.

Miami, Boston and New York lead the US in pirate radio transmissions, with stations that boast colorful DJs, live artist interviews and even commercials.

But the stations are illegal because their owners haven’t bought or leased the frequency or been granted a license to operate on the public airwaves.

All three cities boast large Caribbean populations who listen for the konpa, soca and dancehall tunes missing from mainstream radio’s play lists, the Herald said.

It said Touche Douce, which continued to operate on the 90.1 FM frequency late Friday, features regular DJs and shows in the evenings and on weekends.

Its signal comes from a backyard shed with a very “visible antenna,” according to FCC Enforcement Chief Rosemary Harold, but its studio is located in a North Miami storefront, where the on-air programs are sometimes live-streamed over the internet, the Herald said.

Harold said she is surprised that the underground operators didn’t just stick to streaming, a way that many radio operators without licenses can broadcast legally, according to the Herald.

In this case, she said, the commission has taken the unusual step of holding liable both Polynice and the Sidos, according to the Herald.

“We’re not likely to go after every property owner who may be housing an antenna, especially if they don’t know about a pirate radio, but we aren’t going to let them off the scot-free, either,” she said. “It will depend on the facts.”

According to the commission’s investigation, which dates back to 2012, the Sidos allowed the station’s operator to promote and broadcast the illegal radio transmissions from their backyard, providing free access to the shed and an internet connection.

“The Sidos in this case were more than passive property owners,” Harold told the Herald. “They appear to have controlled access to the transmitter, and had the ability to turn off the transmitter. When our FCC agents came to their door, our signal-finding equipment would show that the signal went away.”

The station has had troubles, the Herald said. It said that, in 2013, one of the station’s popular hosts suffered an electrical shock while fixing the antennae.

The previous year, Touche Douce’s equipment was seized by the FCC, and Polynice was fined $25,000, the commission report said.

Still, the report said, those actions “did not deter Mr. Polynice and the Sidos from their apparent continuing unlawful operations.”

Miami-based agents found unauthorized radio transmissions emanating from the Sido residence on at least seven occasions including as recently as December 2016, according to the Herald.

At one point, it said Polynice, who still hasn’t paid the US$25,000 fine, broadcast from three different locations on six days, including the Sidos’ residence.

Polynice has denied that he operated an illegal radio station, the report said, though agents noted that in 2015 he admitted that he was “DJ Paz” and had developed the Radio Touche Douce brand.

The Sidos also denied knowing Polynice and denied knowing that the station was illegally broadcasting its signal from their backyard, the Herald said.

During one visit to the Sidos’ shed, the Herald said FCC agents, accompanied by US Marshals, observed a laptop computer inside with an audio play list labeled “Radio Touche Douce” and MP3 computer file folders with the name “Paz.”

They also observed cables and an antenna and “what appeared to be an AC power line running from the shed to the Sido residence,” the Herald said.

It said investigators connected the couple to Polynice by scouring social media.

They found a video Harold Sido posted on his Facebook page showing him in the studio during one of the illegal broadcasts, the Herald said.

It said on Touche Douce’s own Facebook page, they saw Polynice was identified as the owner of Radio Touche Douce.