FCC Wants to Slap a $13 Million Fine on a Neo-Nazi Robocaller
His name is Scott D. Rhodes.
He is a Nazi sympathizer who has bombarded communities with racist, anti-Semitic and threatening phone calls.
The FCC wants to fine him $12.9 million because of his many documented instances of illegal behavior, including, according to a FCC statement, "unlawful, spoofed robocalls to target a community grappling with the recent murder of a local woman, threaten a journalist and newspaper and attempt to influence a jury."
Rhodes is linked to thousands of abusive automated calls in at least eight states.
Rhodes is also alleged to have made unlawful spoofed robocalls related to high profile political campaigns in California, Georgia and Florida. The FCC says Rhodes was motivated by a belief that these actions would result in media notoriety and accordingly would enable him to increase publicity for his website and personal brand.
His calls were made in violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act by manipulating calls (spoofing) to make them appear as if they came from local phone numbers. The fine is not final. The FCC says Rhodes will have the chance to respond to the findings and argue for a less severe penalty.
Billions of annoying robocalls ring cellphones each month, and despite many iterations of a "no-call list", federal regulators have been scrambling for years to curb the plague.