Attorney General Bonta: Using Robocalls to Spread Disinformation is Unacceptable

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 51 bipartisan attorneys general in issuing a warning letter to a company that allegedly sent New Hampshire residents scam election robocalls during the New Hampshire primary election. The calls allegedly used artificial intelligence to impersonate the president and discourage voters from participating in the primary. In the warning letter, Attorney General Bonta and the other 51 bipartisan attorneys general on the nationwide Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force warn Life Corporation (Life Corp) that they need to cease any unlawful call traffic immediately. If they don’t, they may be in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Truth in Caller ID Act, and other state consumer protection laws.

“Since taking office I’ve been focused on protecting consumers, and stopping unwanted robocalls is an important bipartisan and nationwide effort. In addition to being a daily annoyance, robocalls can and do cause real financial damage, and in this case potential damage to the integrity of our voting process,” said Attorney General Bonta. "The spread of misinformation and disinformation is unacceptable. Whether in California, New Hampshire, or Texas, I am proud to join in this national effort to protect both consumers and the integrity of our elections.”

The Task Force’s investigation indicates that Life Corp allegedly spoofed their calls to make them appear like they were coming from legitimate New Hampshire political party officials. They then proceeded to provide incorrect information about elections and voting to the call recipients.

In addition to this warning letter, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office today issued a cease-and-desist letter against Life Corp as part of its ongoing investigation into the matter. The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau also issued a cease-and-desist letter against Lingo Telecom, which was identified to have originated a portion of these calls for Life Corp, demanding that it immediately stop supporting illegal robocall traffic on its networks.

The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 bipartisan attorneys general investigates and takes legal action against those responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to enforcing consumer protections in the state of California and speaking out for consumer protections nation-wide. 

Earlier this month, Attorney General Bonta joined a coalition of 26 attorneys general in filing a comment letter responding to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) notice of inquiry related to the potential impact of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology on efforts to protect consumers from illegal robocalls or robotexts. In May 2023, Attorney General Bonta, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general, announced a lawsuit against Avid Telecom for allegedly initiating and facilitating billions of unlawful robocalls that included Social Security Administration scams, Medicare scams, and employment scams. In January 2022, Attorney General Bonta, as part of a bipartisan multistate coalition, urged the FCC to stop the flood of illegal foreign-based robocalls that “spoof” U.S. phone numbers.

A copy of the letter is available here.