ELYRIA, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a lawsuit Tuesday against a Wellington man who allegedly sent unsolicited text messages to hundreds of thousands of consumers without their permission.
Darren Sizemore allegedly used an automatic telephone dialing system, also known as an auto dialer, to send unsolicited text messages to consumers throughout the U.S. The alleged spam messages told recipients to visit certain websites to claim free gifts or prizes. Sizemore allegedly received compensation from third parties for bringing traffic to their websites.
To receive the gifts, consumers were allegedly instructed to provide personal information or to sign up for trial offers that required upfront payments. Sizemore allegedly violated state law by not including the requirements to claim the gifts in the initial text messages.
"Current technology makes it easy for businesses or individuals to bombard consumers with unsolicited text messages," DeWine said. "But state and federal law restrict these practices, and it's unacceptable for individuals to break the law for their own personal gain."
Consumers filed complaints after allegedly receiving the messages despite being registered on the National Do Not Call Registry.
The lawsuit alleges Sizemore violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Sales Practices Act. The suit seeks damages, civil penalties and an injunction to stop further violations.
Ohio AG files lawsuit against alleged text message spammer
