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A company that allegedly facilitated billions of spam calls is being sued by nearly every attorney general in the country for allegedly violating consumer protection and telemarketing laws, according to a complaint filed Tuesday.
Avid Telecom, a Voice over Internet Protocol provider, facilitated more than 7.5 billion calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, according to a complaint filed by AGs from 48 states plus the District of Columbia. The complaint alleged Avid facilitated more than 24.5 billion calls between December 2018 and January 2023, and more than 90% of those calls lasted less than 15 seconds, indicating they were likely robocalls.
The AGs name two Avid executives as defendants as well: CEO Michael Lansky and Vice President of Operations and Sales Stacey Reeves.
According to the complaint, Avid would sell phone numbers, data and dialing software that enabled customers to make mass robocalls. Using Avid’s services, customers could allegedly spoof the area codes of their calls to match those of their recipients, which made it more likely they’d pick up.
Calls allegedly facilitated by Avid included scams about the Social Security Administration, Medicare, auto warranties, Amazon, credit card interest rate reduction and more.
A group designated by the Federal Communications Commission to notify providers about suspected illegal robocalls sent at least 329 notifications to Avid about the suspected spam, the AGs allege. But Avid allegedly ignored the warnings.
The lawsuit is a result of the work of a bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which pursues large-volume robocall cases.
“Contrary to the allegations in the complaint, Avid Telecom operates in a manner that is compliant with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations,” Avid said in a statement. “The company has never been found by any court or regulatory authority to have transmitted unlawful traffic and it is prepared to meet with the Attorneys General, as it has on many occasions in the past, to further demonstrate its good faith and lawful conduct.”
Avid said it’s “disappointed” the AGs did not convey their concerns directly before filing suit. It said it would “defend itself vigorously and vindicate its rights and reputation through the legal process.”
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