Attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of creating greater than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry.
The 141-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner Michael D. Lansky and company vice chairman Stacey S. Reeves.
It seeks a jury trial to find out damages.
The lawsuit arises from the nationwide, bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 attorneys general and the District of Columbia.
It was formed last 12 months to research and take legal motion against telecommunications corporations routing volumes of robocall traffic.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said nearly 197 million of the robocalls were made to Arizona phone numbers between December 2018 and January 2023.
Avid Telecom is accused of creating greater than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry.Shutterstock
“On daily basis, 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 an announcement. “More disturbingly, a lot of these calls are scams designed to pressure frightened consumers, often senior residents, into handing over their hard-earned money.”
The lawsuit said Avid Telecom used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers, including greater than 8.4 million calls that seemed to be coming from government and law enforcement agencies in addition to private corporations.
The corporate also allegedly sent or transmitted scam calls in regards to the Social Security Administration, Medicare, Amazon and DirecTV, in addition to auto warranties, employment and bank card rate of interest reductions.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said nearly 197 million of the robocalls were made to Arizona phone numbers.Shutterstock
“Americans are sick and bored with their phones ringing off the hook with fraudulent robocalls,” Latest York Attorney General Letitia James said in an announcement. “Seniors and vulnerable consumers have been scammed out of tens of millions due to these illegal robocalls.”
The lawsuit alleges Lansky and Reeves violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and other federal and state telemarketing and consumer laws.
“Contrary to the allegations within the grievance, Avid Telecom operates in a fashion that’s compliant with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations,” said Neil Ende, the corporate’s outside legal counsel. “The corporate has never been found by any court or regulatory authority to have transmitted illegal traffic and it is ready to satisfy with the attorneys general, because it has on many occasions up to now, to further show its good faith and lawful conduct.
“On this context, the corporate is disenchanted that the attorneys’ general selected not to speak their concerns directly before filing the lawsuit,” Ende added. “While the corporate at all times prefers to work with regulators and law enforcement to deal with problems with concern, as obligatory, the corporate will defend itself vigorously and vindicate its rights and popularity through the legal process.”
Robocalls have also been a difficulty during elections lately.
Through the 2020 election, voters across the U.S. received anonymous robocalls within the weeks leading as much as Election Day telling them to “stay protected and stay home.”
Two conservative hoaxers were convicted of fraud for making over 85,000 robocalls to Black voters in five states.
The calls falsely stated giving information in mail-in ballots may lead to arrest, debt collection or forced vaccination. Their sentence included spending 500 hours registering voters in low-income neighborhoods of Washington, D.C.
