In its second case against a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, the FTC announced that it has reached a proposed settlement with Alcazar Networks Inc. and its owner Gavin Grabias concerning the FTC’s charges that they facilitated tens of millions of illegal telemarketing phone calls. The proposed settlement bars Alcazar and Grabias from
Telemarketing
DISH Network Agrees To Pay $210 Million for Vendors’ Violations In Historic Department of Justice Telemarketing Enforcement Action
By Michael Fausey on
A recent settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and a media conglomerate underscores the importance of implementing robust Telephone Consumer Protection Act compliance measures, including for third-party vendors. In 2017, a jury found DISH Network LLC liable for its vendors’ violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, as…
CFPB sues debt settlement company and its owners for deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices
By Susan N. Nikdel on
On November 20, 2020, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a student-loan debt-relief company, FDATR, Inc., and its owners, Dean Tucci and Kenneth Wayne Halverson. FDATR was an Illinois company that involuntarily dissolved in September 2020. Through telemarketing and telephone sales, FDATR promised to provide student-loan debt-relief and credit-repair services to consumers.
The complaint,…
CFPB announces partial settlement of lawsuit for alleged violations of Telemarketing Sales Rule in connection with marketing of debt-relief services offered by attorneys
By Elanor A. Mulhern on
The CFPB recently filed suit in the Central District of California against Texas-based GST Factoring Inc. and two of its owners, along with Champion Marketing Solutions, LLC (“CMS”), its owner, and four separate attorneys.
In its complaint, the CFPB alleged that defendants violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) prohibition on receiving advance fees for debt-relief…
Ballard Spahr launches COVID-19 national tracking service for debt collection and telemarketing developments
By Stefanie Jackman on
For our clients and others interested in monitoring coronavirus (COVID-19) developments involving debt collection or telemarketing, effective today, March 23, Ballard Spahr has launched a comprehensive, national tracking program. Each business day, participants in the program will receive an email update of any new laws, orders, executive pronouncements, or other guidance impacting the collections and…
D.C. Circuit rejects challenge to FTC opinion applying TSR robocall consent requirement to calls made using soundboard technology
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has rejected a trade group’s attempt to invalidate a November 2016 FTC opinion in which the agency concluded that outbound telemarketing calls made using soundboard technology are subject to the prior written consent requirement for robocalls in the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
The TSR’s robocall…
Federal court upholds FTC opinion applying TSR robocall consent requirement to calls made using soundboard technology
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
A D.C. federal district court has rejected a trade group’s attempt to invalidate a November 2016 FTC opinion in which the agency concluded that outbound telemarketing calls made using soundboard technology are subject to the prior written consent requirement for robocalls in the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
The TSR’s robocall written consent requirement applies…