Attorneys-general across the US on Tuesday joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the US’ Do Not Call Registry.
The 141-page suit was filed in US District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner, Michael Lansky, and company vice president Stacey Reeves.
The suit arises from the nationwide Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 attorneys-general and the District of Columbia. It was formed last year to investigate and take legal action against telecommunications companies routing volumes of robocall traffic.
Photo: AP
Arizona Attorney-General Kris Mayes said that nearly 197 million of the robocalls were made to Arizona telephone numbers between December 2018 and January.
“Every day, countless Arizona consumers are harassed and annoyed by a relentless barrage of unwanted robocalls — and in some instances these illegal calls threaten consumers with lawsuits and arrest,” Mayes said in a statement.
“More disturbingly, many of these calls are scams designed to pressure frightened consumers, often senior citizens, into handing over their hard-earned money,” Mayes said.
The lawsuit said that Avid Telecom used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers, including more than 8.4 million calls that appeared to be coming from law-enforcement or government agencies as well as private companies.
The company also allegedly sent or transmitted scam calls about the US Social Security Administration, Medicare, Amazon and DirecTV, as well as auto warranties, employment and credit card interest rate reductions.
“Americans are sick and tired of their phones ringing off the hook with fraudulent robocalls,” New York Attorney-General Letitia James said in a statement. “Seniors and vulnerable consumers have been scammed out of millions because of these illegal robocalls.”
The suit alleges that Lansky and Reeves violated the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and other federal and state telemarketing and consumer laws.
Lansky has a phone listing in Tucson, Arizona, but did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the lawsuit and there was no available number for Reeves in Orlando, Florida.
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