Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Alleged crammer to pay precious metal coins in lieu of $21M judgment, (Dec 17, 2014)
Organizations Mentioned:American eVoice, Ltd.
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
An individual defendant, alleged to have participated in an enormous landline cramming operation, has been ordered to hand over precious metal coins, settling FTC charges against him. The cramming operation allegedly placed over $70 million in unauthorized charges on consumers’ phone bills (FTC v. American eVoice, Ltd., File No. 122-3008, Case No. 13-3-M-DLC).
In its complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, the FTC alleged that a number of individuals and companies engaged in a common enterprise that caused recurring charges to appear on consumers’ monthly telephone bills for unrequested and unauthorized telecommunications services. The charges ranged from $9.95 to $24.95 per month, plus taxes and fees, and were placed on consumers’ bills by transmitting data through companies known as “billing aggregators.” The Commission asserted that since January 2008, the defendants received over $26 million in net revenues from the charges, after subtracting returns, fees for excessive credits and refunds, service fees, and other expenses paid to the billing aggregators. The cramming practice constituted unfair and deceptive billing practices in violation of the FTC Act. The Commission is seeking disgorgement of ill-gotten assets and injunctive relief.
Nathan M. Sann, an individual defendant, has agreed to settle FTC charges for his alleged participation in the cramming scheme. Judgment in the amount of over $21 million has been entered against him, but will be suspended upon him surrendering certain precious metal coins to the FTC. In addition, he is prohibited from representing or assisting others in representing that a consumer is obligated to pay any charge for goods or services, unless a consumer provides express verifiable authorization, and all material terms of the offer are disclosed prior to authorization.
Companies: American eVoice, Ltd.
News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews