The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined the Consumer Education Group $100,000 for making millions of illegal telemarketing calls to consumers who were on the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, including pre-recorded robocalls in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The $100,000 fine is in lieu of a civil penalty in the amount of $2,339,687 which is equivalent to the amount the Consumer Education Group made from the calls, but it is unable to pay.

The calls were made between 2013 and 2015 and were part of a campaign to generate sales leads for other companies. The FTC alleged that the campaign was not designed to solicit actual business for certain products, but instead was to obtain consumers’ names and telephone numbers, so the consumers’ information could be sold to other third parties as leads for other products.

In addition to the fine, the order requires the Consumer Education Group to stop violating the TSR and to stop calling consumers who request that they not be called again.

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