The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Sonkei Communications alleging that the company violated the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act by providing substantial assistance and support to companies employing deceptive telemarketing practices.

According to the agency, Sonkei provided services to telemarketers who offered credit card services, home security systems, and grant procurement programs.

Sonkei altered the name of the calling party on the recipient’s caller ID, the agency said, and was aware that its clients made telemarketing calls that did not name the telemarketer making the call or the seller on whose behalf the call was made.

Instead of the caller’s true identity, when a Sonkei client made a robocall, a recipient’s caller ID would display “SERVICE MESSAGE” or “SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT,” the FTC said.

The illegal phone calls have been going on since at least 2008 and have resulted in tens of thousands of complaints, according to the FTC complaint, which also named Peter J. Turpel and Joseph Turpel, the company’s officers and co-owners.

“Defendants were aware or consciously avoided knowing that their clients made telemarketing calls that transmitted or caused to be transmitted caller names that did not name the telemarketer initiating the call or the seller on whose behalf the telemarketing call was made,” according to the complaint. Further, the defendants “were aware or consciously avoided knowing that their telemarketing clients called consumers’ telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.”

The Department of Justice filed the complaint on behalf of the FTC in California federal court. In addition to monetary civil penalties – up to $11,000 for each violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule prior to Feb. 9, 2009, and $16,000 per violation after that date – the complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief against the defendants.

To read the complaint in U.S. v. Sonkei Communications, click here.