“The Federal Communications Commission today proposed a $5,134,500 fine against John M. Burkman, Jacob Alexander Wohl, and J .M. Burkman & Associates LLC for apparently making 1,141 unlawful robocalls to wireless phones without prior express consent in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This is the largest TCPA robocall fine ever proposed by the Commission.”

“It is also the first action where the FCC was not required to warn robocallers before robocall violations could be counted toward a proposed fine, per Congress’s recent amendment of the TCPA. The FCC ‘s Enforcement Bureau investigation found that the calls in this case were apparently prerecorded and made to consumers’ wireless phones without the required prior consent. Subject to narrow exceptions, the TCPA prohibits making prerecorded voice calls to wireless phones without the consent of those receiving the calls regardless of the content of the calls. The robocalls in this case, made on August 26 and September 14, 2020, used messages telling potential voters that, if they vote by mail, their ‘personal information will part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts.’ The Commission began its investigation following consumer complaints and concerns raised by a non-profit organization” – FCC press release.