LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – The Department of Justice has taken action against an alleged telemarketing scheme undertaken by KFJ Marketing, Sunlight Solar Leads LLC, Go Green Education and the owner of these companies, Francisco Salvat, by filing a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Salvat’s alleged scheme involved pre-recorded “robocalls” being sent out to consumers warning them of impending hikes to their energy bills. The message said to “press one” to lower rates, according to claims. If consumers did so, they were allegedly put in touch with an employee of the defendant who would discuss solar panels with them.
The department charges that these alleged acts violated federal law by placing 1.3 million calls to phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry.
"Federal law protects the privacy interests of American consumers by prohibiting calls made to numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry and otherwise limiting calls made by telemarketers,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ensure entities like those named in today’s lawsuit are penalized when they make unwanted and unlawful phone calls.”