The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has affirmed its decision to fine a North Carolina man and his company more than $82 million for making more than 21 million illegal robocalls.
The fine, which was originally proposed by the FCC in an August 2017 Notice of Apparent Liability, was in response to findings that Phillip Roesel and his company, Best Insurance Contracts, deliberately falsified caller ID information (known as “spoofing”) as part of an effort to sell health insurance policies to vulnerable consumer populations, including the elderly and low-income families.
Roesel responded to the FCC’s original Notice, claimed that the Commission had failed to prove his intent to harm, that he did not know that he had caused any harm, and that any value he or his firm received from the illegal calls was not “wrongfully” obtained. However, the Commission determined that the evidence in its possession did not support Roesel’s claims, and that the proposed fine was warranted.
The fine levied against Roesel and his company is one of the largest forfeitures ever imposed by the FCC.
