Reuters obtained FTC complaint records, with names redacted, through a Freedom of Information Act request. Find the resources you need to understand how consumer protection law impacts your business. She is based in Washington. . 03/03/2023, 159 No Impact on Informal Consumer Complaint Process. 151, 152, 154, 201, 202, 217, 218, 220, 222, 225, 226, 227, 227b, 228, 251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 262, 276, 403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, 1401-1473, unless otherwise noted, Pub. For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR parts 0 and 64 as follows: 1. better and aid in comparing the online edition to the print edition. The call centers in Alabama, along with others in Nevada, New Jersey, and Florida, raise money on behalf of scam PACs, slang among criticsfor political action committees that purport to support worthy causes but in reality hand over little of the money for political or charitable purposes. Bass set up five super PACs allegedly dedicated to a range of causes including veterans and firefighters. And while law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, have hit some alleged bad actors withfraud charges, it generally is only when they have tried to conceal where the funds were going, said Adav Noti, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer and now chief of staff at the Washington D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization of specialists in election law. And the groups they were raising money for werent charities at all, but political action committees, which normally are set up to gather funds for candidates or political causes. In addition, we note that pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, we previously sought specific comment on how the Commission might further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. Jul 10, 2020, 08:10 ET. 5. The Sylacauga call center employed work release inmates, an arrangement that apparently ended before 2018, the former callers said. Commenters were concerned that the definition proposed in the Scam PACs tend to slip through gaps among agencies that govern elections, charities and telemarketing, regulators say, leaving consumers exposed to misleading or fraudulent pitches. 1. An arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, a national group representing the top law enforcement officers in their states, sent out robocalls encouraging people to march to the U.S. Capitol the day before the building was stormed by a pro-Trump mob. . Melaleuca, an online wellness shopping club, gave $290,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association in 2020. A week later, Armstrong said, he was rehired to help raise money for political action committees. documents in the last year, 36 on NARA's archives.gov. Jessica Blanchard, 23, who worked at Politicause in 2018, said many callers either were addicts from halfway houses or jail inmates on work release. accessible format documents, sign language interpreters, CART, etc. The Republican Attorneys General Association raised more than $18 million in 2020 from several top corporations, including Pepsi, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and Comcast, the parent company of NBC News. The stance of the protestors was not consistent with Attorney General Carrs position on election fraud. The "Committee for Police Officer's Defense" (CPOD) was configured to help police officers fight against the continuing "War on Cops" by taking a varied political stance against politicians, activist judges, prosecutors, district attorneys and a host of others who try to bring police officers down by any means. Delany De Leon-Colon, postal inspector in charge of the USPS Criminal Investigation Unit, explained how the elderly are particularly likely to fall for robocall . 24. We adopt rules to establish an online web portal where private entities may submit information about suspected violations of sections 227(b) and 227(e). If new workers werent making sales, they were quickly fired. This Report and Order establishes a streamlined process for private entities to submit information about unlawful, unwanted calls. Congress adopted the requirement to create a streamlined process to collect information about robocalls and spoofing against the backdrop of the existing informal consumer complaint process. Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format, etc.) Congress did not define private entity in the TRACED Act. on This definition is consistent with common usage. We anticipate that this portal will be particularly useful to private entities experiencing large scale robocall incidents and voice service providers that have network analytic information. Black's Law Dictionary defines entity as [a]n organization (such as a business or a governmental unit) that has a legal identity apart from its members or owners. Second, we find that, as a policy matter, we should exclude individuals from the definition of private entity as the term is used in section 10(a) of the TRACED Act. The political action committee spent 91% of its money on fundraising in the 2 year examined by Reuters, Federal Election Commission records show. publication in the future. establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned ". to the courts under 44 U.S.C. The callers said theyd already honed their charity pitches and so found it easy to repurpose them for the political committees, appealing to patriotism and what one called pulling heartstrings.. 503, 132 Stat 348, 1091. We acknowledge commenters' concerns that, at least initially, private entities might be confused about whether the consumer complaint process or the new streamlined process is a more appropriate place to submit information. The Report and Order contains new or modified information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). At Politicause, for instance, some said they initially were told to say donations would be used to help buy new police and fire equipment. website. FAIRFAX, Va., July 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Committee for Police Officers' Defense, the political arm of Police Officers' Defense Coalition, recently launched a . The Public Inspection page may also We agree with commenters that including individuals within the definition of private entity would undermine the intent of the statute to streamline information collection about robocalls and spoofed calls, and would create confusion for consumers about whether to use the existing informal complaint process or the new portal, or both. 47 U.S.C. Use of the portal is completely voluntary and we impose no new requirements on small businesses. We could no longer say, We are helping police officers get body armor, but we could say, We are supporting efforts to get them body armor, said Jackie Armstrong, 32, a former Politicause employee. Ultimately, changes must come at the federal level, said Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat who chairs the Federal Election Commission. The purpose of the portal is to provide private entities a streamlined method to submit information to the Bureau about suspected robocall or spoofing violations. Reuters interviewed a dozen donors to PACs. Interviews and records indicate managers at both firms once worked at a Zeitlin company called Courtesy Call. NPRM Drug abuse was a problem at both call centers, ex-employees said. The site is secure. When she later realized it was a PAC telemarketer, she felt exploited. We find that adopting a distinct intake process for private entities best satisfies the statutory language, while integrating it with the existing process managed by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will reduce administrative costs and consumer confusion. When organizations operate as political action committees, however, they are not subject to the laws governing charity fundraising, according to federal and state regulators and telemarketing industry officials. We interpret section 10(a) of the TRACED Act to encompass suspected or alleged violations of section 227(b) or section 227(e) as the most natural reading the of the statute. Adam Piper, the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association, and Peter Bisbee, the executive director of the fundraising arm, did not return requests for comment about the robocalls, which were first reported by the watchdog group Documented. 9. documents in the last year, by the Executive Office of the President The full text of this document is available for public inspection online at On September 1, 2009, new FTC rules went into effect prohibiting most prerecorded telemarketing calls, commonly known as robocalls . We are proud to say its a 90-10 split, Jones recalled saying, leaving out that his company was getting the 90% share. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), the Commission has prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) relating to this Report and Order. For further information, contact Daniel Stepanicich, Attorney, Telecommunications Consumers Division, Enforcement Bureau, at (202) 418-7451 or Instead, the bulk of the money is kept by fundraising firms or the people running the PACs. The President of the United States communicates information on holidays, commemorations, special observances, trade, and policy through Proclamations. documents in the last year, 83 Gelvan agreed to a permanent ban on raising money for charity in New York in 2004 in a case that accused him of deceptive telemarketing for a state troopers charity, court documents show, and he paid a $50,000 finefor violating that agreement 10 years later. All told, the PACs took in $83.1 million during the 2 year period examined by Reuters, about 82% of which went to the eight fundraising companies, according to the campaign disclosures required by the FEC. If youre a PAC, and youre raising money for one purpose and doing something else, thats fraud, said Elizabeth Grant, who oversees the Oregon Department of Justice Charities unit. Definition of Private Entity. Congressional Review Act. 16. 154(i), 154(j), and 227, and section 10(a) of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, Public Law 116-105, 133 Stat. Now I'm not knocking on Mr. Fotis, I'm just reporting on what I have found and I thank him for his service in the Army and as a Police Officer. Federal Register Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format. adopted a phone number), the caller ID information displayed, the phone number(s) called, the date(s) and time(s) of the relevant calls or texts, the name of the reporting private entity's service provider, and a description of the problematic calls or texts. are amended Listen Transcript Hello, good evening. Some tips for consumers: Listen carefully for the name of the organization. WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today issued the following statement after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the bipartisan Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act.The bill will now be sent to the president's desk to be signed into law: on Pepsi and the NRA did not respond to requests for comment. Learn more here. developer tools pages. In fact, scam PAC operators and fundraisers are often old hands of the charity world, with a history of run-ins with regulators, state and federal records show. If an individual consumer mistakenly files a complaint with the new portal, the Bureau will forward the complaint to the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. James Dellinger, 34, said he and other callers got in the door with a remarkable qualification they were in jail. that the Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, Updated: 05/04/2018 05:00 AM EDT. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission sued Zeitlin for allegedly deceptive practices in charity fundraising, but the case has been suspended because a grand jury was investigating, according to court documents. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal Jan. 8, 2021, 5:36 PM PST. We wish it was 100, but we have to keep the lights on.. What is wrong with giving somebody a second chance? Zeitlin responded when Reuters asked about his hiring practices. She said she would like to see the panel mandate more disclosure to donors about how much of their money is going to fundraisers, as well as stronger fraud protections in federal campaign law. They are looking for naturals, said Jones, adding that good performers could take home $1,000 to $1,500 a week. Starting with a group of eight fundraising operations that earned at least a half-million dollars each during this period, Reuters traced interconnections among them and 31 PACs. This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the Those calls used a recording of Trump's . These can be useful You are not lying, but you are being extremely misleading. Even as they charmed millions from credulous donors, a dozen former callers for two major fundraisers told Reuters that they knew their companies would be keeping the vast majority of it. The current informal consumer complaint process is a vital tool for the Commission. documents in the last year, 467 The Committee for Police Officers Defense is run by James J. Fotis, who is a retired New York Police officer, who ran unsuccessfully in 2007 for Sheriff of Manassas City / Manassas Park City / Prince William County. that the Commission I was unaware of unauthorized decisions made by RLDF staff with regard to this weeks rally, said Marshall, who assumed his role Nov. 10. Rather, they and their fundraisers present the PACs as charities, suggesting they support veterans, firefighters or victims of deadly diseases, for instance. March 24, 2017 8. In a statement to NBC News, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who runs the fund, said the calls were sent out without his knowledge. The Commission directs the Enforcement Bureau to announce the effective date for those information collections in a document published in the Callers said they did so quickly and proudly, hoping people wouldnt catch on. 17. This site displays a prototype of a Web 2.0 version of the daily But proving it can be a challenge, she said when, for example, conversations arent recorded and callers stray beyond the boundaries of scripts that toe the line. documents in the last year, 122 Some telemarketers who claim to be raising money for causes like homeless veterans and cancer victims work for political action committees (PACs), not charities, and keep much of the money they raise. And, as he has been saying since moments after seeing news break, the violence and destruction we saw at the U.S. Capitol is unacceptable and un-American.. The site has since been taken down. JoAnn Coleman, 63, a construction engineer from Gaithersburg, Maryland, said she was particularly vulnerable to a pitch for the breast cancer PAC. More information and documentation can be found in our This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links (b) For the purposes of this section, the term private entity shall mean any entity other than a natural individual person or a public entity. Amend 0.111 by redesignating paragraph (j) as paragraph (k) and revising it and by adding new paragraph (j) to read as follows: (j) Collects and reviews information received from private entities related to violations of 64.1200(a) and 64.1604(a) of this chapter. We find that our decision to exclude individual consumers from the definition of private entity will greatly reduce, if not eliminate, potential confusion. We are appalled and condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and have communicated that to RAGA. At 1 p.m., we will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal, said the voice on the recording, which was obtained by NBC News. Everyday our protectors in law . Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. Spot the latest COVID scams, get compliance guidance, and stay up to date on FTC actions during the pandemic. Those who responded denied their marketing was deceptive and defended their business model and compensation. Quoting from its website, the "Committee for Police Officers' Defense is a 527 Committee designed to seek out radical prosecutors, judges and district attorneys." Another organization is. or call the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Elsewhere in the Communications Act, however, Congress used the term person to include individuals and organizational entities. The groups share funding, staff and office space in Washington, D.C. Document page views are updated periodically throughout the day and are cumulative counts for this document. e.g., Back in 2019, a CNN investigation traced a series of mysterious robocalls claiming to raise money for Trump's wall back to Support American Leaders PAC. Solicitors asking you to donate to charity. 21. It is a way for them to get around the charity laws thats exactly what theyre doing, said Stuart Discount, chief executive of the Professional Association for Customer Engagement, a trade association for direct marketers. Committee type: Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) Committee designation: Unauthorized. The workers said Politicause managers eventually reined in that practice, requiring them to instead say that at least 10% went to the cause. We work to advance government policies that protect consumers and promote competition. 47 U.S.C. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the 3274, this Report and Order, is hereby Demonstrators attempt to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Callers told Reuters they easily made the switch, working in the same buildings, for the same bosses, using similar scripts. Zeitlin told Reuters he was not the target of the grand jury investigation. In addition, public entities often contact Enforcement Bureau staff directly about robocalling and spoofing matters. are not part of the published document itself. Here it would be virtually impossible for the consumer to do any research, he said. rendition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov does not An official website of the United States government. We have told them many times to stop calling us, one person contacted by Politicause complained to the FTC in April 2019, noting that the household was on a Do Not Call list. Always Be Closing, one poster read. The data in turn informs the Commission's policy work, serves as a deterrent to companies the Commission regulates and contributes to consumer protection efforts. headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents. 10. This prototype edition of the In this Issue, Documents The Commission has determined, and the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, concurs that this rule is non-major under the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with Open for Comment, Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions, Economic Sanctions & Foreign Assets Control, Fisheries of the Northeastern United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, PART 64MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-14711, MODS: Government Publishing Office metadata, https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/06171386503472/FCC-21-75A3.pdf. We have been assured by RAGA that none of our contributions to RAGA were given to the Rule of Law Defense Fund., In a statement, Comcast said: "We have long supported Democratic and Republican associations of attorneys general. ), send an email to 801(a)(1)(A). Few other top officers at these fundraising firms and PACS would speak to Reuters on the record. This is a summary of the Commission's Report and Order, in EB Docket No. NPRM, (269) 257-6522 is a Fake Police Charity Robocall Do not answer. that parts 0 and 64 of the Commission's rules The portal is also available for use by private entities that have had their number(s) spoofed. At TPFE, callers said they told potential donors all proceeds went to defraying the cost of the appeal [for funds] and to accomplish the mission, said former employee Jake Adair, 28. Just enough to get them to stop asking, he added. should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official A Rule by the Federal Communications Commission on 09/23/2021. Our past robocall enforcement actions have relied extensively upon information from private entities. a copy of this Report and Order Rulemaking, including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Second, we find that establishing a stand-alone process designed specifically to handle concerns from private entities ( Though scam PACS have no standard definition and cant be definitively counted, a review of Federal Election Commission records suggests they account for a sliver of the some 6,800 PACs in the country. It wasnt easy: The secretive nature of this and other fundraising operations makes them difficult to pin down, he said, and he was able to identify the many players involved only by using subpoena power. The TRACED Act directs the Commission no later than June 30, 2021 to prescribe regulations to establish a process that streamlines the ways in which a private entity may voluntarily share with the Commission information relating to violations of section 227(b) or 227(e) of the Communications Act. That process is a well-established one that consumers have come to understand and depend upon. on Search the Legal Library instead. We are committed to protecting and defending law enforcement against progressive politicians, judges, and other officials that encourage the war on cops. Neither he nor other officials at his company returned requests for comment. Several told NBC News that spending money on this kind of recruitment for protest runs counter to the purpose of their donation. Both Politicause and TPFE had procedures to keep workers with fraud convictions from handling credit card information, former callers said, although Politicause workers said the rules were sometimes relaxed for high performers. For example, in two enforcement actions, a medical paging company was a key source; it informed the Bureau that the paging company's phone lines were being bombarded by spoofed robocalls. Heroes United, accused of using deceptive tactics to get the firefighter donations, agreed to stop telemarketing in the county and to refund any donations. Reuters also could not ascertain the ownership of another large fundraising operation with a call center in Hoover, Alabama, some 45 miles from Zeitlins center in Sylacauga. The authority citation for part 0 continues to read as follows: Authority: We agree with Twilio that private entities and consumers should be directed to a centralized reporting mechanism, but we also find that the new portal should be distinct from the existing informal consumer complaint process. Like many such telemarketing centers tucked away in strip malls or office parks, it offered no clues to what went on inside. We enforce federal competition and consumer protection laws that prevent anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices. Richard Zeitlin, the biggest fundraiser in the loose network identified by Reuters, told a reporter in a brief interview that he had closed down all of his call centers, saying I wanted a change in direction. Asked about ex-employees claims of deception in his companies PAC fundraising practices, he declined to discuss specifics. But because that suggested donors were contributing directly to purchasing new gear, the callers said they were told by managers to adjust their language. documents in the last year, 282 Reached for comment, the Chamber of Commerce provided a statement from Harold Kim, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. A 5 On Your Side viewer got one of those calls recently, asking him to support the National. documents in the last year, 35 regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of We also clarify that a public entity is any governmental organization at the federal, state, or local level. Gifts to actual charities are; donations to PACs, which sometimes sound like charities, are not. Never disclose personal information. Or follow the simplest rule: Never give to anyone over the phone, said Margot Saunders, senior counsel for the National Consumer Law Center. not individual consumers) about robocalls and spoofing best aligns with the TRACED Act requirement. We also have a process for obtaining information from certain public entities: Federal and state law enforcement agencies routinely coordinate with the Enforcement Bureau about robocall and caller ID spoofing enforcement and mitigation efforts. Former Politicause employee Armstrong said he was fired in 2018, when the call center did charity fundraising, for having drugs at work. The authority citation for part 64 continues to read as follows: Authority: Federal Register. If the potential donors suspected they had given to the group before, the callers were instructed to say: I have no way of knowing because we feel that donations are given from the heart, not the hand, so we keep all donation records confidential, according to the FAQ. In such cases, the Enforcement Bureau will forward such consumer complaints to the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. We do not support any similar activities now, and will not in the future., A Microsoft spokesperson said: We condemn the actions taken by the RLDF and are raising our concerns directly with RAGA. This robocall tip line will provide a streamlined process for reporting potential violations, and will enable the Enforcement Bureau to respond quickly to disruptive robocalling events. Treasurer: POLLOCK, KECIA MARIE. Efforts to pass anti-robocall legislation have stalled for years, but the agreement announced Friday increases the odds that Congress will send the White House a bill before 2020. An arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, a national group representing the top law enforcement officers in their . In interviews, a dozen former employees of Politicause and Zeitlins TPFE described techniques they used to wrangle donations, leaving contributors with the impression they were giving to good causes. Federal Do Not Call rules do not apply to political or nonprofit fundraising. 15. The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau also forwards complaints to the Enforcement Bureau, which may use them to pursue enforcement actions. We amend our rules to establish a streamlined process for private entities to submit information about violations of Sections 227(b) and 227(e) of the Act to the Commission. OMB, the general public, and other Federal agencies will be invited to comment on the new or modified information collection requirements contained in this proceeding. New Documents Even so, Reuters identified a loose network of fundraising companies and PACs that quickly grew into a money-making force, with some ranking near the top fundraisers in the period stretching from January 2017 through mid-2019. Zeitlin did not respond to questions about this issue. It is further ordered 22. The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau uses this the current document as it appeared on Public Inspection on Private entities and consumers who wish to submit information or complaints about robocalls will be directed on the FCC website to the appropriate intake process for their situationthe new portal for private entities or the existing informal consumer complaint process for consumers. The Federal Election Commission has jurisdiction over political spending but neither the agency nor Congress has acted on recommendations in 2016 by some of its own members to strengthen fraud protections and disclosure requirements as part of campaign law. The Commission will send a copy of this Report and Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. shall send Police Officers' Defense Coalition and Committee for Police Officers' Defense is committed to cleaning up the annals of justice by flushing out those who pretend to represent the people, but instead manipulate the system and the prosecute police officers as a stepping stone to their next higher political office. These markup elements allow the user to see how the document follows the One FAQ, given to callers at Politicause and reviewed by Reuters, shaped the fundraising pitch for asuper PAC called the American Coalition for Injured Veterans. (c) Compliance dateparagraph (a) of this section contains a voluntary information collection. Cherokee Nation Businesses does not condone these actions and strongly condemns the insurrectionists and all those who instigated the disruption of the federal government through their words and actions.. 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