Citizens Disability to Pay $1 Million over FTC Charges that it Made Tens of Millions of Illegal and Misleading Calls to Consumers Nationwide

Citizens Disability, LLC and its subsidiary will pay a $1 million penalty to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that they made tens of millions of illegal calls to consumers, including to numbers on the Do Not Call (DNC) registry, and that they misrepresented that they were calling consumers in response to inquiries about their eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

"Consumers often wonder how telemarketers get their phone numbers, even if they're on the Do Not Call Registry," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "In this case, Citizens Disability used websites offering prizes, coupons, and other services to collect consumers' personal information and then used that information to make tens of millions of illegal sales calls. The FTC will not tolerate such deceptive conduct."

According to the complaint, filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, Massachusetts-based Citizens Disability, which assists consumers in applying for SSDI benefits, and its subsidiary, CD Media, have used illegal robocalls and illegal calls to numbers on the DNC Registry to sell their services to consumers, typically using third-party lead generators and call centers.

The complaint alleges that, between January 2019 and July 2022, the companies caused more than 109 million outbound telemarketing calls to be made, including calls to more than 25.7 million numbers listed on the DNC Registry. The FTC alleged their actions violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FTC Act.

The complaint alleges the companies contract with lead generators to obtain lists of consumers for their telemarketers to call. The lists are created via websites that deceptively induce consumers into providing their information through attractive sweepstakes, coupons, and service offers, but fail to disclose their personal contact information will be used for certain telemarketing calls.

The complaint further alleges that the defendants have called consumers, many of whom are lower-income or disabled, and falsely stated that they are calling in response to their inquiries about SSDI benefits. For example, some of these calls were made via robocalls that identified the caller as "Amber" or "Audrey," before representing that "it show[s] here that you recently inquired about your eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits."

The proposed consent order announced today :

• Prohibits the defendants from certain telemarketing using pre-recorded robocalls;
• Prohibits them from certain telemarketing to telephone numbers on the DNC Registry;
• Prohibits them from making misrepresentations, including that they are calling in response to a consumer's inquiry about their eligibility for Social Security disability benefits; and
• Requires them to conduct due diligence and monitoring of their lead generators to ensure that their lead generators do not make misrepresentations when soliciting consumers.

It also includes a $2 million civil penalty, which will be partially suspended upon payments totaling $1 million within the year after the order is entered. If the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition, the full amount will become automatically due.

The Commission vote to authorize the staff to refer the complaint and proposed consent decree to the Department of Justice was 3-0. The DOJ filed the complaint and proposed consent decree upon referral from the Commission in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has "reason to believe" that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. Consent decrees have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The staff attorneys on this matter are Karina Layugan, Matthew Fine, and Jeffrey Tang in the FTC's Western Region Los Angeles. Staff would like to thank the Social Security Administration and the Better Business Bureau in Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont for their assistance with this matter.