Dish Network Corp. must pay $252 million to the U.S. and four states for using robocalls to consumers on do-not-call lists, a federal judge in Illinois said.
U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough issued the order Monday, directing the company to pay $168 million to the federal government and $84 million to California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio.
The U.S. and the four states sued Dish in 2009, alleging the company violated two consumer telemarketing laws by making more than 55 million illegal calls. The U.S. asked for $900 million in fines, while the states sought more than $110 million.
Dish blamed contractors and subcontractors for more than 90 percent of bad calls, terming the rest of the contacts inadvertent. The company said it fired the offending contractors when Dish learned of the illegal activity.
The case is U.S. v. Dish Network LLC, 09-cv-03073, U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois (Springfield).