DISH Network to Pay $210 Million for Telemarketing Violations Details Written by DOJ
Washington, DC - The Department of Justice Monday announced a settlement in which DISH Network LLC (DISH) will pay $126 million in civil penalties to the United States for placing millions of telemarketing calls in violation of the Federal Trade Commission s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
This settlement represents the largest civil penalty ever paid to resolve telemarketing violations under the FTC Act, and exceeds the total penalties paid to the government by all prior violators of the TSR. DISH will also pay a combined $84 million to four states for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, for a total settlement of $210 million.
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.
[author: Susan Nikdel]
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, filed in an Illinois federal district court, alleges that FDATR and its owners violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by engaging in deceptive and abusive telemarketing acts or practices and violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA) by engaging in deceptive acts or practices. According to the complaint, defendants requested and received payments from consumers for debt-relief and credit-repair services before achieving the results the company promised and before it was legally allowed to do so under the TSR and falsely represented in violation of the T