Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a $5.1million fine against two right-leaning political operatives who were accused of illegally making more than 1,100 robocalls. These calls were made to persuade people not to vote.
The FCC stated that recorded messages were sent to potential voters before the November 2020 election. They told them that their personal information would be included in a public database. This will allow police departments to locate old warrants and credit card companies to collect debts. These messages appeared to be targeted at Black voters, and they advised them not to give their private information to men.
John Burkman, Jacob Wohl and others were already facing felony charges at Wayne County Circuit Court. They were accused of "orchestrating an robocall in Detroit and other cities that have significant minority populations" as Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced November 2020. They were also indicted by the Ohio Attorney General Letitia Jam, who is seeking $2.75 million in fines.
Michigan's felony election-law offenses carry combined maximum sentences up to 24 years. The proposed FCC fine of $5.1million would be the largest ever under US Telephone Consumer Protection Act. According to the FCC, this was the first time that the FCC wasn't required to warn robocallers prior to robocall violations could count towards a proposed fine. This is per Congress's recent amendments of the TCPA.
Conspiracy theorists
Wohl and Burkman, conspiracy theorists who support former President Donald Trump, are well-known.
"Wohl, Burkman were involved in a variety of deceptive practices in order to debase those that they view as enemies to conservatives," Politico reported in October 2020 about the Michigan robocall charges. They fabricated sexual assault claims against Pete Buttigieg (ex-Democratic candidate), Anthony Fauci (White House coronavirus taskforce member) and Robert Mueller (ex-special counsel). The Daily Beast reported that Wohl "staged a fake protest against him, only for it to become immediately obvious that he was behind it." Advertisement
Robocalls starting with Project 1599
Burkman, Wohl and J.M. were all accused by the FCC in a Notice of Apparent liability. Burkman & Associates were accused of making "1,141 illegal robocalls wireless numbers without subscribers' express consent, except an emergency purpose," in violation of The Telephone Consumer Protection Act. These calls were made between August 26th and September 14th 2020.
Although the FCC acknowledged that the message content was not relevant to its decision that the calls were illegally made, the agency provided a transcript from the recordings sent to voters.
Hello, Tamika Taylor, Project 1599 is a civil rights organization that Jack Burkman, Jacob Wohl, and Tamika Taylor founded. Mail-in voting sounds wonderful, but did you also know that your personal information, if you mail in your vote, will be included in a public database? This will allow police departments to locate old warrants, and credit card companies to collect any outstanding debts. Even the CDC wants to use mail-in voting records to track who is eligible for mandatory vaccines. Do not be forced to give your personal information to the man. Stay safe.
According to the FCC, "Project 1599" is not a legal entity. It's a branding name that describes the activities of Burkman Wohl and Burkman & Associates.
A federal judge in New York ordered Burkman, Wohl and others to call the voters and inform them that their first message was false. This violated US voting rights laws. According to the judge's order, the defendants' actions were similar in nature to the Ku Klux Klan's but they used telephones, computers and other modern technology to carry out electoral terror.
It can be sent to black neighborhoods
The New York AG's office stated that its May "investigation showed Wohl and Burkman clearly targeted Black communities in their widespread robocall campaign." Wohl sent Burkman an audio file of the call on August 25, 2020. He stated that it should be sent to black neighborhoods . The next day, Wohl emailed Burkman to thank Wohl.
According to the FCC, it was contacted by complaints from consumers who were outraged at being flooded with unsolicited robocalls. The FCC investigation ran into a minor roadblock when "many of these mobile phone customers refused to speak to [Enforcement] Bureau staff." However, "the two consumers who were willing and able to give information stated that they hadn't consented to the calls and had never heard of Burkman Wohl or Burkman & Associates before receiving the robocalls." The FCC stated that none of the consumers contacted by the Bureau consented to the calls. Advertisement
FCC does not collect fines
Because the FCC has a poor track record in collecting robocall fines it is unlikely that Wohl or Burkman will be required to pay $5.1million, or even close to that amount. Wohl and Burkman have thirty days to pay the proposed penalty or appeal the decision.
The FCC can issue a forfeiture order or a settlement. If the order is not paid, the commission will refer the case to the Justice Department. Jessica Rosenworcel, Acting Chair of the FCC, released a statement regarding the proposed fine. She cited "the unanimous backing of my colleagues" which suggests that the 2-2 deadlock between Democrats & Republicans will not be a problem in this instance.
Concerning the criminal charges, Wohl and Burkman are currently awaiting trial at Wayne County Circuit Court following a failed dismissal attempt." Their next court date is September 21st according to Nessel's office.
Nessel stated that the massive fine "reflects the seriousness of these allegations against the two political operatives." "Mr. Burkman, and Mr. Wohl are accused of orchestrating a series robocalls that were aimed at suppressing votes in the November general elections." My office will continue to pursue these criminal cases against them, but I commend the FCC's action today.
