The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against Francisco J. Salvat and his companies KFJ Marketing, LLC, Sunlight Solar Leads, LLC, and Go Green Education (collectively, Defendants) for violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), failure to honor do not call requests, failure to transmit caller identification, and for initiation of unlawful prerecorded telemarketing messages. In the FTC’s press release, Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “Mr. Salvat’s companies ignored the Do Not Call Registry and made illegal robocalls. Breaking the law isn’t a great way for a company to introduce itself to potential customers.”

According to the complaint, prerecorded calls from the Defendants about consumers’ energy bills were made, saying “stop the 14% increase coming soon,” and then if a consumer “pressed one,” they were transferred to a telemarketer who tried to sell them solar panels. When consumers asked the Defendants to stop calling, the FTC alleges that those requests were most often ignored. The FTC asks the court to award monetary civil penalties for the TSR violations and to enter a permanent injunction to prevent future violations. We will watch for a settlement in the near future.