WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced March 26 that a group of companies have been banned from engaging in deceptive telemarketing practices after a federal court order.
“Unwanted telemarketing calls invade the privacy of American consumers,” Chad A. Readler, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure telemarketers adhere to laws designed to protect against abusive and deceptive telemarketing practices.”
The defendants in the case are Feature Films for Families Inc., Corporations for Character L.C., Family Films of Utah Inc., and Forrest S. Baker III. These defendants allegedly violated the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
“As this case demonstrates, the FTC is aggressively pursuing law enforcement action against those that violate our nation’s Do Not Call rules, including those that use deception to secure sales or donations,” Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.
Handling the case for the department were trial attorneys Arturo DeCastro and David A. Frank of the Civil Division’s consumer protection branch. They were assisted by attorney Michael Tankersley of the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.