DIRECTV Telemarketers To Pay $75,000 Penalty for Do Not Call Violations

The Federal Trade Commission today announced it has entered into a court settlement with Nomrah Records, Inc. and its president, Mark Harmon – named defendants in the recent DIRECTV telemarketing case. Under the settlement, filed today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on the FTC’s behalf, Harmon will pay a $75,000 civil penalty and both he and the company will be barred from violating the Do Not Call (DNC) Rule and Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) in the future.

In December 2005, the Commission charged DIRECTV and other defendants that telemarketed on DIRECTV’s behalf with violating the DNC Rule and the TSR by calling consumers, despite the fact that their numbers were on the National DNC Registry. In settling the charges, DIRECTV paid $5.3 million, representing at the time the largest-ever DNC penalty obtained by the Commission.

The Final Judgment and Order: The stipulated final judgment and order against Nomrah and Harmon contains strong injunctive relief, barring Nomrah and Harmon from calling consumers on the DNC Registry, as well as from violating any other provisions of the TSR in the future.

The judgment and order also requires Harmon to pay a $75,000 civil penalty, with the stipulation that $400,575 will become due if he is found to have misrepresented his financial condition to the Commission. Finally, the order contains standard record keeping and reporting terms to ensure the defendants comply with the order.

Ongoing DIRECTV Litigation: The proposed settlement announced today, if adopted by the court, will settle the Commission’s charges against Nomrah Records, also d/b/a Direct Activation, and Mark Harmon, individually and as an officer of Nomrah Records. Litigation continues against the following defendants: D.R.D., Inc., also d/b/a Power Direct; Daniel R. Delfino, individually and as an officer of D.R.D.; Global Satellite, LLC., also d/b/a Mavcomm; William King, individually and as an officer of Global Satellite; and Michael Gleason, individually and as an officer of Global Satellite.

The Commission vote on the stipulated final judgment and order for permanent injunction was 5-0. It was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf on August 14, 2006, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.

NOTE: Stipulated final judgments are for settlement purposes only and do not necessarily constitute an admission by the defendants of a law violation. Stipulated judgments have the force of law when signed by the judge.

Copies of the complaint and modified stipulated final order are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

(FTC File No. X060010)
(Civ. No. SA CV 05-1211 DOC (ANx))