They made 1 billion robocalls. Now Texas telemarketers get FCC’s largest fine ever

Two Texas telemarketers were given the largest fine ever by the Federal Communications Commission after they made around 1 billion robocalls, the agency announced Wednesday.

The calls made by John C. Spiller and Jakob A. Mears were transmitted across the country during the first four-and-a-half months of 2019, the FCC said. For many of the calls they used a method called spoofing, which is when a caller disguises their identity by transmitting a different phone number.

Spiller and Mears were fined $225 million — the largest fine in the FCC’s 86-year history.

They used business names like Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom to sell “short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans,” the FCC said. The companies are based in Houston, according to the Houston Chronicle.

According to the FCC, one call stated, “Are you looking for affordable health insurance with benefits from a company you know? Policies have all been reduced nationwide such as Cigna, Blue Cross, Aetna, and United just a quick phone call away. Press 3 to get connected to a licensed agent or press 7 to be added to the Do Not Call list.” When they pressed 3, the victim would be transferred to a call center with no affiliation to the health insurance provider, the FCC said.

Consumer complaints and robocalls about health insurance and health care products began to rise in 2018. Around 23.6 million health insurance robocalls were made daily early that year, and Rising Eagle was the culprit for a large portion of them, the FCC said in June.

Spiller and Mears were sued in June by attorneys general from seven states. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt claimed their companies initiated more than 5 million robocalls to phone numbers on his state’s Do Not Call Registry.

Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas are also involved in the lawsuit, Schmitt said.

Spoofing is illegal under the FCC’s Truth in Caller ID Act. Offenders face a penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation.

To avoid spoofing, the FCC urges people to not answer calls from unknown numbers, hang up the call if a caller or recording asks you to hit a button to stop hitting calls and never give out personal information.

This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 12:09 PM with the headline "They made 1 billion robocalls. Now Texas telemarketers get FCC’s largest fine ever."