STATEMENT OF
CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL

Re:	In the Matter of Sumco Panama SA, Sumco Panama USA, Virtual Telecom kft, Virtual Telecom Inc., Davis Telecom Inc., Geist Telecom LLC, Fugle Telecom LLC, Tech Direct LLC, Mobi Telecom LLC, and Posting Express Inc., File No.: EB-TCD-21-00031913, Forfeiture Order (August 3, 2023)
	Not that long ago you may have received a call from someone desperately trying to reach you about extending your auto warranty.  I know I did.  At one point, it seemed like these calls were everywhere.  They were more than just a nuisance.  That’s because this scheme flooding our lines marketing fake car warranties was part of a scam to gain access to our personal and financial information.  

	So the Federal Communications Commission kicked into high gear.  We worked to identify who was sending these junk calls—more than five billion of them!—and then armed with the facts gave phone companies permission to cut off this traffic before going one step further and directing them to block it outright.  We got results.  Following our action, the number of auto warranty calls fell by 99 percent.  

We were able to stop these illegal robocalls because we had a terrific colleague working alongside us—the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.  The Forfeiture Order we adopt here is a testament to our joint efforts.  At nearly $300 million, it is also the largest fine in FCC history. 

But the Ohio Attorney General is not the only authority we are working with to address fraudulent robocalls.  We now have signed agreements to work with Attorneys General in 46 states because today we welcome our two newest signatories, Hawaii and New Mexico.  These partnerships matter.  There are many more scammers out there; we know there is more work to do.  But we also know that combining our understanding of networks with state experts in fraud can yield results.  Today’s action is proof.

What happens next?  Under the law we will refer this Forfeiture Order to the Department of Justice to collect payment.  I hope, however, that Congress will consider giving the FCC authority to go to court and collect these fines ourselves.  In the meantime, we will keep using the tools we have to hold those behind fraudulent calling schemes accountable.  In fact, just this week the Enforcement Bureau identified another source of illegal robocalls and we have put all phone companies on notice they can block these calls.  We know the scam artists behind these calls are relentless—but we are coming for them and won’t stop until we get this junk off the line.  

Thank you to the Robocall Response Team for this order, including Caitlin Barbas, Jessica Manuel, Daniel Stepanicich, Jane van Benten, Kristi Thompson, Victoria Randazzo, Rakesh Patel, and Loyaan Egal from the Enforcement Bureau; Elizabeth Drogula, Zachary Ross, Hayley Steffen, Callie Coker, and Edward Krachmer from the Wireline Competition Bureau; Kristi Thornton from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; Ed Cureg, Alex Simmons, and Ramesh Vishnubhotla from the Office of Economics and Analytics; and Valerie Hill, Richard Mallen, Wisam Naoum, and Chin Yoo from the Office of General Counsel.