Indiana Settlement Puts Robocallers ‘Out of Business for Good,’ Says AG
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) reached a settlement agreement Thursday in his October 2021 complaint alleging that Startel Communications and its CEO Wanda Hall assisted actors in India, the Philippines and Singapore to inundate Indiana residents with scam robocalls in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. Startel and Hall “knew or consciously avoided knowing these calls were illegal,” alleged his complaint.
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Indiana, Startel and Hall “believe it is in their best interests to resolve the issues presented” in the state’s complaint, and “avoid further litigation,” said a consent decree filed in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana in Evansville (docket 3:21-cv-00150). Startel and Hall admit no wrongdoing or violations of the governing statutes, it said. They agreed to a $1.34 million “monetary judgment,” but Indiana suspended all but $5,000 of the judgment for the “inability to pay.”
The defendants are “permanently restrained and enjoined from engaging in violations” of the TSR and the TCPA and engaging others to violate the statutes, said the consent decree. They also are permanently barred from “knowingly operating, owning, investing in, being an employee of, drawing revenue from, or consulting with” any voice service providers and are enjoined from knowingly providing VoIP services to others, it said.
The consent decree requires Startel and Hall to “fully cooperate” with Indiana authorities in any future robocall investigations by providing “truthful and complete” information, evidence and testimony. The defendants agree under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to the disclosure of the contents of any autodialed, telemarketing or prerecorded telephone calls regarding services they provided, said the decree.
For the $5,000 of the monetary judgment not suspended, Startel and Hall are ordered to pay $500 in installments over 10 years, with the first payment due Nov. 1, said the consent decree. The defendants agree to submit a compliance report, “sworn under penalty of perjury,” within 120 days, it said. The defendants must submit notice of the filing of any bankruptcy petition, insolvency proceeding or similar proceeding “by or against them or any entity” in which they have any ownership interest, or any filing for “voluntary dissolution,” within 14 days of its filing, it said.
“The people of Indiana are tired of being bombarded by robocalls, and this settlement is a win for Hoosiers," said Rokita in a statement. "If telecom companies are unwilling to stop the robocalls flooding into the U.S., we have no problem putting them out of business for good.”