The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has upheld a record $225 million fine against two Texas-based telemarketers for transmitting approximately 1 billion robocalls in 2018.
In a Memorandum Opinion and Order issued in early June, the FCC rejected a petition by John Spiller and Jakob Mears, owners of the business entities Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, in connection with a $225 million fine originally issued by the FCC in March 2021. In its Opinion and Order, the FCC noted that the petitioners failed to provide any additional information or facts that would warrant reconsideration of its original decision.
In its 2021 Forfeiture Order levying the record fine, the FCC claimed that the parties made illegally spoofed calls selling short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans, falsely claiming that the plans were issued by Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and other well-known insurance companies. In addition, the FCC noted that Spiller admitted to the U.S. Telecom Industry Traceback Group that he made millions of spoofed calls each day and that he and his entities knowingly called consumers on the federal Do Not Call list, believing that they were more likely to be responsive to the calls.
Read the FCC’s Memorandum Opinion and Order upholding the record fine for robocalls.
