Attorneys general of Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas joined Michigan in this legal battle.
Michigan – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and attorneys general from seven other states have won a big legal battle against a well-known robocaller, permanently banning him from working in the telecommunications business. This week’s court verdict ends John Spiller’s ability to work in the industry after he was discovered to have made billions of robocalls, many of which were aimed at those on the federal Do Not Call Registry.
A court told Spiller to stop all robocalling and telemarketing activities in 2023. He owned and controlled a number of voice service providers, such as Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC and JSquared Telecom LLC. Even though he was told not to, Spiller kept running businesses under numerous identities and utilized fake names to get around the restriction. The court decided that he broke the permanent order by starting up his fraudulent robocall activities again, which led to the second, harsher punishment.
This week’s decision means that Spiller can’t ever create or run a telecommunications business again. He also can’t work with some of the people who helped him keep his businesses going. The court’s ruling also says that he can’t make false assertions under fake identities in any official filings. Along with these restrictions, Spiller has to pay more than $600,000 to compensate the states’ legal costs and attorneys’ fees in the case.
Attorney General Nessel said that Spiller’s activities were an example of “intrusive and deceptive robocalls” that have offended many people.
“Mr. Spiller owned and operated companies behind billions of intrusive and deceptive robocalls,” Nessel said. “I am proud to have worked alongside my colleagues to secure this judgment ensuring he can no longer harass Michiganders. I will continue using every tool at my disposal to hold bad actors accountable and protect consumers from illegal robocalls.”
The attorneys general of Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas worked with Nessel on this. This collaboration between states shows how robocall scams affect a lot of people and how important it is to work together to stop them.
The outcome of this case is a reminder to those in the robocall business: if you keep breaking consumer protection rules on purpose, you will face serious legal consequences. The court’s order is a definite end to Spiller’s robocall business and an indication of a wider crackdown on illicit telemarketing across the country.