Santa Ana resident accused of running illegal robocalling network
After tens of thousands of people complained about getting automated telemarketer calls from companies owned by Roy M. Cox Jr., the Federal Trade Commission has accused the Santa Ana resident of illegal robocalling.
The federal agency contends that Cox and his coterie of companies have buzzed phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry since at least 2008 while masking their identities, actions that violate the FTC’s telemarketing sales rules.
In addition to Cox’s Laguna Niguel-based Castle Rock Capital Management Inc., the FTC alleges he runs operations based in Panama, Hungary, Argentina and the Republic of Seychelles. His clients include companies selling credit card interest rate reduction programs, extended automobile warranties and home security systems.
The FTC accused Cox’s network of obscuring its caller ID and instead appearing on customers’ phones as vague entities such as “card services,” “credit services” or “private office.”
The agency also contends that Cox and his companies were aware of -- or at least made a point of not finding out -- that the numbers they were calling were included on the national no-call list.
The FTC’s complaint aims to get Cox to pay civil penalties and stop dialing.
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-- Tiffany Hsu
Photo: A telephone. Credit: Wes Bausmith / Los Angeles Times
