Rokita Goes After Robocallers

(Stock photo by Pexels/Daria Shevtsova)

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a lawsuit against an Indiana company that he claims illegally opened the door to robocalls to unsuspecting Hoosiers. The suit was filed against Evansville-based Startel Communication LLC.

The AG says the company allegedly circumvented Do Not Call registries and acted as a gateway into the U.S. for robocallers in India, the Philippines and Singapore.

“Hoosiers are sick and tired of being harassed by illegal and unwanted robocalls,” said Rokita. “Just as I promised, we will stay on the offense in our efforts to protect Indiana consumers and bring these people to justice.”

The suit claims robocallers made over 4.8 million phone calls to Hoosiers and hundreds of millions of calls to other states across the United States. Rokita says they allegedly operated a variety of scams, including IRS and Social Security Administration imposter scams.

The attorney general says more than 780,000 Hoosiers were on the federal Do Not Call Registry and over 605,000 were on the Indiana Do Not Call list, but still received robocalls.

Rokita’s office says the Evansville company is owned and operated by Wanda Hall and Abhijit Chowdhury, an Indian national.