Miami man behind 100 million robocalls hit with huge FCC fine

In a massive strike, the Federal Communications Commission issued a $120 million fine on a massive robocall spoofing operation it deemed a threat to public safety.

The FCC announced Thursday morning that it would levy the fine against Adrian Abramovich, a Miami man who the commission said made almost 100 million spoofed robocalls over a threemonth period at the end of 2016. The FCC argued that Abramovich’s operation made the phony calls to trick consumers into answering them and listening to his advertising messages. The fine was based on 80,000 spoofed calls the commission had verified.

A complaint filed by the FCC against Abramovich in June 2017 alleged he had broken the Truth in Caller ID Act — which prohibits callers from falsifying caller ID information to disguise their identity with intent to harm or defraud — in perpetrating “one of the largest — and most dangerous — illegal robocalling campaigns that the commission has ever investigated.”

The complaint said Abramovich’s robocall scheme “bombarded American consumers and repeatedly disrupted a critical telecommunications service used by hospitals and emergency medical providers.” Consumers also were subject to fake robocalls offering “discounted” travel services by real companies including Expedia and TripAdvisor.

Abramovich attempted to fight the fine when he appeared before senators last month and said he was “not the kingpin that is alleged,” according to Newsweek. Abramovich asked the FCC to reduce the fine, saying it was disproportionately aggressive given that most calls were not answered or were quickly ended by consumers, according to Bloomberg.

“Clearly regulation needs to address the carriers and providers and require the major carriers to detect robocalls activity,” Abramovich said in testimony submitted to the Senate Commerce Committee. He has also told the committee that his role in the scam had been “significantly overstated” by the FCC, according to Newsweek.

The FCC was unmoved. Last year, commissioner Mignon Clyburn said it would be “one of the biggest understatements I have made in years” to claim Ambramovich’s case was extremely troubling.

“Adrian Abramovich’s alleged spoofing activities has a direct and adverse financial impact on consumers, the reputational harm of respected American businesses and if that were not enough, has been a serious threat to public safety,” Clyburn said.