Telemarketing company hit with $82M fine over illegal robocalls

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Robocalls are not only annoying, many are illegal. And now, in a major crackdown, one company is facing a multi-million dollar fine.

The FCC has slapped an $82 million fine on Best Insurance Contracts.

Authorities say the company is responsible for 200,000 robocalls a day in an effort to sell health insurance.

Officials say owner Philip Roesel preyed on vulnerable targets by disguising the origin of the calls to make them look like they were coming from different phone numbers.

The FCC said the Truth in Caller ID Act prohibits callers from deliberately falsifying caller ID information -- called "spoofing" -- to disguise their identity with the intent to harm, defraud consumers, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.