In the wake of a proposed record monetary forfeiture for robocalls, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed another massive fine against a North Carolina man and his company for making more than 21 million illegal robocalls.
According to a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture issued in early August, the FCC has proposed a fine of more than $82 million against Philip Roesel and his company, Best Insurance Contracts, for deliberately falsifying caller ID information (known as “spoofing”) as part of their effort to sell health insurance policies to vulnerable consumer populations, including the elderly and low-income families.
The Commission’s action closely follows a similar Notice of Apparent Liability issued in June against a Florida man who allegedly organized 96 million separate spoof calls during a three-month period at the end of 2016. In that case, which is still pending, the Commission proposed a fine of $120 million, potentially the largest monetary forfeiture ever proposed by the agency.
In addition to the Commission’s Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has issued a citation against Roesel for apparent violations of robocall limits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
