The Federal Communications Commission has imposed a record $ 225 million fine on two telecommunications companies in Texas for “fraudulent” robocalls, the agency said Wednesday.
Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom have been fined after placing nearly one billion robbo calls in 2019 to sell short-term health insurance plans.
“John C. Spiller and Jakob A. Mears, who used businesses including Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, sent the fraudulent robo calls through the country during the first four-and-a-half months of 2019,” reads a statement issued by the FCC.
“Mr Spiller admitted to the USTelecom Industry Traceback Group that he made millions of fraudulent calls a day and knowingly called consumers on the Do Not Call list because he believes it was more profitable to target these consumers.”
According to an anti-spam app, Robokiller, spam calls have risen by 26 percent in the past year.
The FCC also announced on Wednesday that it will assign 51 employees to form a ‘Robocall Response Team’ in response to the increase in robo calls. The general of DOJ, FTC and state attorneys were also asked to help with the issue.
Removal letters were sent to all companies that violated the FCC rules or that violated the FCC.
‘Today’s strike and absence letters should serve as a warning sign to other institutions that believe the FCC has blinded this issue. We certainly did not and we will come to you, ‘FCC Acting President Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
The FCC has issued more than $ 450 million in fines in recent years.