A Dish Network Corp. subsidiary will pay $210 million in penalties related to alleged telemarketing violations, in a settlement with the Justice Department and four states.
The U.S. government, along with California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio, said Dish made millions of unlawful telemarketing calls to consumers and was behind millions more by retailers that marketed Dish products and services. The federal government and the states filed the suit against Dish Network LLC in 2009. The case went to trial in 2016.
The Justice Department said the settlement is the largest civil penalty ever paid for telemarketing violations under the Federal Trade Commission Act. It also exceeds total penalties paid by all prior violators of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule to the government, the DOJ added.
“We have long taken our compliance with telemarketing laws seriously and we maintain rigorous telemarketing compliance procedures and policies,” the company said Monday. “While we respectfully disagree with the underlying liability judgment, which involved telemarketing calls made between 2003 and 2011, this matter is now resolved.”
The company last week said in a securities filing that it had already set aside the fine amount, and that it has until Jan. 3 to pay the penalties.
