The Federal Communications Commission charged a record $ 225 million fine at two Texas-based telemarketing companies for “counterfeit” automatic calls, the agency said on Wednesday.
Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom were punished with the fine after making nearly a billion automatic calls in 2019 to falsely sell short-term health insurance plans.
“John C. Spiller and Jakob A. Mears, who used trade names like Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, transmitted the fake automatic calls across the country during the first four and a half months of 2019,” says a statement issued by the FCC.
“Sir. Spiller admitted to the USTelecom Industry Traceback Group that he made millions of fake calls a day and consciously called consumers on the Don’t Call list because he believed it was more profitable to reach those consumers.”
According to an anti-spam application, Robokiller, spam calls increased by 26% in the past year.
The FCC also announced on Wednesday that it will allocate 51 employees to form a “Robocall Response Team” in response to the increase in automatic calls. The DOJ, the FTC and the state’s attorney generals were also asked to assist in the matter.
Letters of termination and withdrawal have been sent to all companies that have violated FCC rules or that the FCC believes they have violated.
“Today’s cease and desist letters should serve as a warning signal to other entities that believe that the FCC has turned a blind eye to this issue. We certainly didn’t and we are coming after you, ”said FCC President-in-Office, Jessica Rosenworcel, in a statement.
The FCC has issued more than $ 450 million in fines in recent years.