For those who enjoy seeing robocall kingpins being taken down– isn’t that everyone?– there’s a very interesting case pending in federal court in Ohio.
A guy named Aaron Michael Jones allegedly oversaw a robocall empire that made hundreds of millions of illegal calls to sell auto warranties.
If a consumer interacted with the robocall and expressed interest they would be transferred to a warranty company that would then pay Jones for the “lead.”
This was a very sophisticated operation, apparently, that allegedly involved shell financial entities and even fake people who served as directors and submitted false FCC filings.
Crazy.
So the Attorney General for the State of Ohio is not just going after Jones in their suit but also named a bunch of his alleged co-conspirators.
Two of them– a guy named Roy Melvin Cox, Jr. and a lady named Julie Katherine Bridge– just tried to get out of the suit and it didn’t go very well for them.
In Ohio v. Jones, 2025 WL 2772466 (S.D. Oh. Sept. 29, 2025) the court denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings brought by Cox and Bridge.
The essence of the motion was that they should not be personally named in the suit since the actions were taken in furtherance of their employer. But the Court concluded the corporate veil could be pierced.
Notably, piercing the corporate veil is not necessary in TCPA suits because the statute applies automatically to individuals who “personally participated” in such violations (at least according to most courts.) But the AG is suing under a bunch of other statutes– so piercing the veil was part of the strategy here apparently.
For those wondering what these two did in furtherance of the scheme, here is a brief synopsis:
Cox allegedly paid for the domain registration and a cloud server used to initiate robocalls. (Id. ¶¶ 99(d), (h)). With respect to Bridge, she is alleged to have opened financial accounts for Corporate Defendants which were allegedly used in the illegal robocall operation. (Id. ¶¶ 104(a)-(c)). She also allegedly signed contracts in furtherance of the scheme. (Id.).
These acts–coupled with alleged full knowledge of the scheme– was all it took for them to be stuck in the suit and standing shoulder to shoulder with Jones in the case.
Fascinating stuff.
Pretty clear take aways here:
- Cold calling people with pre-recorded marketing messages is illegal;
- Do not make illegal robocalls;
- Do not help people make illegal robocalls;
- Do not associate with people who make illegal robocalls;
- Do not attempt to profit off of illegal robocalls;
- Do not open bank accounts for money from illegal robocalls;
- Do not sign up for services used to make illegal robocalls;
- Do not sign papers used to facilitate an illegal robocall scheme;
- Just stay the hell away from illegal robocalls.
Its all bad folks.
But I’ll tell you what’s all good– Troutman Amin, LLP’s YouTube channel (@deservetowin.)
We are now up over 18k followers and nearly 600k views!
We have more followers than any AmLaw 100 law firm!!!
Just giving the people what they want– TCPA/data privacy/AI legal news and views they can’t get anywhere else.
Chat soon.
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I would have thought you would have been familiar with Mr Cox and his prior history.
From 2013:
The FTC settlement against Roy M. Cox, Jr., is part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts to stop illegal robocalls. In December 2011, the FTC charged Cox and several related companies with illegally failing to transmit their name or their clients’ names on consumers’ caller ID displays when making their telemarketing calls, using generic names instead, such as “CARD SERVICES,” “CREDIT SERVICES,” or “PRIVATE OFFICE.” The FTC also alleged that they knew, or consciously avoided knowing, that they called phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, and made pre-recorded sales calls to consumers without their written consent.
The settlement order bans Cox from telemarketing and imposes a $1.1 million civil penalty that will be suspended due to his inability to pay. The full penalty will become due immediately if he is found to have misrepresented his financial condition. The FTC and DOJ have asked the court to dismiss five of Cox’s co-defendants who could not be served or are defunct – Castle Rock Capital Management S.A., Capital Solutions Group S.A., Transfers Argentina S.A., Public Service, and Marketing Strategy Group – and will seek to have default entered against a sixth defendant.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2013/02/robocaller-banned-telemarketing-settlement-ftc
but wait…. there is more…
FCC Proposes Nearly $300M Fine Against Auto Warranty Scam Robocaller
Full Title: In the Matter of Sumco Panama SA, Sumco Panama USA, Virtual Telecom kft, Virtual Telecom Inc., Davis Telecom Inc., Geist Telecom LLC, Fugle Telecom LLC, Tech Direct LLC, Mobi Telecom LLC, and Posting Express Inc.
Document Type: NAL
Bureau(s): Enforcement
Description
The FCC proposes a $299,997,000 fine against an auto warranty scam robocall operation run by Roy Cox, Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones via their Sumco Panama company, and other companies and associates
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposes-nearly-300m-fine-against-auto-warranty-scam-robocaller