DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has announced a court order against a Phoenix-based telemarketing company and its owner that will bar the company from making contact with Iowans.
Polk County Judge Richard Blane II issued the order against American Handicapped & Disadvantaged Workers Inc. and Adli Dasqui as part of a consent decree. Under the terms of the consent decree, AHDW must stop calling Iowans in connection with its telephone sales of household products using sales pitches that focus on helping disabled workers.
In September, Miller's office filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against AHDW for allegedly using sales pitches in which callers selling lightbulbs, trash bags and other household items claimed to be handicapped. The lawsuit alleged that AHDW misled Iowans about the callers' disabilities to get them to make a series of purchases at premium prices.
"The undercover phone line in our Consumer Protection Division caught AHDW telemarketers in the act of making highly misleading sales pitches," Miller said. "We also learned that the company repeatedly exploited the generosity of some older Iowans. For example, the company pitched one Iowa senior three times in less than five months, each time collecting $200 for high-priced household items."
In addition to barring any future telemarketing in Iowa, the AHDW and Dasqui must refrain from further using its list of Iowa customers or transferring the list to anyone else. Under the terms of the consent judgment, the defendants must pay $10,000 for consumer refunds. ADHW and Dasqui admitted no wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
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