Attorney General Todd Rokita and his team continue to secure significant penalties from illegal robocallers, amassing court wins and settlements that extend beyond Indiana. Last week, Rokita’s office led 49 bipartisan attorneys general from the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force against Avid Telecom, a company responsible for sending 24 billion problematic calls over four years. Despite numerous warnings, Avid Telecom continued transmitting these calls.
Following successful arguments from Rokita’s office, the Arizona District Court ruled against Avid Telecom’s motion to dismiss. This decision allows Indiana’s Data Privacy & ID Theft team to hold the company, owner Michael D. Lansky, and vice president Stacey S. Reeves accountable in court.
In previous years, Consumer Reports and trade magazines described the billions of robocalls hitting Indiana as an “epidemic.” Rokita’s anti-robocaller attorneys have pursued defendants responsible for more than 25 million scam calls in less than one year. These defendants exploited various schemes ranging from auto insurance claims to DirectTV payments.
Rokita declared war on robocallers in 2021 with a lawsuit against Startel Communication LLC, a gateway operation that allowed robocallers from India, the Philippines, and Singapore to target Hoosier phone lines. That same year, he dismantled Associated Community Services (ACS), which swindled $110 million from consumers nationwide under the guise of charitable donations.
Robocall tracking sites like Robokiller have since removed Indiana from their “top scammer target states,” indicating a reduction of tens of millions of scam calls since 2020.
“Everyone knows robocallers are a huge nuisance, but they pose dangers much worse than merely disturbing our peace," Attorney General Rokita said. "Quite often, these robocalls are part of criminal schemes aimed at stealing Hoosiers' identity and taking our hard-earned money."
In August 2022, Rokita announced his team was co-leading the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force with North Carolina and Ohio. This 51-member collective focuses on investigating and pursuing enforcement actions against entities in the robocall ecosystem.
Many robocalling operations frequently move between states or countries, making it challenging to pursue individual offenders. In response to these tactics, Rokita's team has targeted telecom gatekeepers such as Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) providers to curb millions of calls and block foreign scammers abusing the American phone system.
This past January, Rokita’s office successfully led 45 attorneys general in submitting comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding a new rule impacting VoIP providers. Through bans and injunctive action against entities like Startel Communication and individuals like Eric Simkin and Greg Sheppard, Rokita's team has protected Hoosiers while securing millions in settlements.
“Winning the war on robocallers requires constantly staying on offense,” Attorney General Rokita said in March 2023 after several large settlements. “We have pledged to do that since we first took office.”
“If you aid and abet lawbreakers...you had best expect to be held accountable,” Attorney General Rokita stated this week. “We have sent that message loud and clear...and we’re going to keep going after them tooth and nail.”