Rhode Island has joined 48 other states in a lawsuit against a company that allegedly initiated and facilitated billions of illegal robocalls to millions of people in violation of consumer protection and telemarketing laws.
Avid Telecom, based in Tucson, Arizona, is a Voice over Internet Protocol service provider which sells data, phone numbers, dialing software, and expertise to help its customers make mass robocalls. The suit claims the company transmitted more than 7.5 billion illegal robocalls to millions of people on the National Do Not Call Registry — approximately 25 million went to numbers in Rhode Island, said R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.
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Alaska is the only state to not join the lawsuit against the company.
Neronha said the calls violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, Rhode Island’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and other federal telemarketing laws.
“As alleged, this company knowingly sent millions upon millions of distracting, disruptive calls into Rhode Island,” Neronha said in a statement. “More than a mere annoyance, this problem is pervasive, it is a waste of resources, and it is against the law.”
More than 90% of the calls lasted less than just 15 seconds, which indicates they were likely robocalls. Avid Telecom allegedly sent or transmitted scam calls about Social Security Administration scams, Medicare scams, auto warranty scams, Amazon scams, DirecTV scams, credit card interest rate reduction scams, and employment scams.
“Our office is committed to protecting Rhode Islanders from this type of aggressive and illegal behavior, and this lawsuit with attorneys general across the country does just that,” Neronha said.
The suit names Michael D. Lansky, LLC, which does business under the name Avid Telecom, its owner Michael Lansky, and its vice president Stacey S. Reeves.
Christopher Shea is a staff writer for the Rhode Island Current.
