Robocall Defendent Agrees to Suspended $122.34M Judgment

John Spiller, one of the defendants in the lawsuit brought by the attorneys general in eight states to thwart illegal robocalls, agreed to a $122.34 million monetary judgment, suspended for his inability to pay, to resolve the allegations against him "without admitting liability,” said a stipulated order Friday (docket 4:20-cv-02021) in U.S. District Court for Southern Texas in Houston.

Spiller was ordered to pay the states $50,000 in civil penalties within 12 months, including $10,000 due within 30 days, said the order. The $122.34 million judgment will be suspended once he pays the $50,000 civil penalties, it said. Spiller also agreed to a permanent injunction barring him and his companies from future Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations, it said.

The states’ second amended complaint in October 2020 alleged Spiller made millions of illegal robocalls a day to consumers through two entities he controlled, Rising Eagle Capital and JSquared.

The states' agreement to suspend the $122.34 million judgment and limit Spiller's monetary-penalty exposure to $50,000 is "expressly premised upon the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of his sworn financial statements and related documents," said the order. The suspension will be lifted if, on the motion by any plaintiff state, the court finds Spiller violated the order, it said.

Spiller is also obligated under the order to disclose any "material asset," it said. The order also bars him from materially misstating the value of any asset, it said. If the suspension of the judgment is lifted, the judgment "becomes immediately due," plus interest, it said.

Spiller and his companies are permanently banned from making calls to any number list on national or state do not call registries, said the order. He's also barred from making calls displaying a caller ID number "that the calling party does not have legal authority to use," it said.

The order requires Spiller and his companies to screen current and prospective customers for unlawful robocall activity, said the document. For new or prospective customers, "such reasonable screening must occur and be completed before beginning to provide services" to the new customer, it said.

For existing "high risk" customers, reasonable screening must be completed within 45 days of the order, it said. For all other customers, the screening must occur and be completed within 90 days, it said. For all customers, the screening "must recur annually," it said.