Federal Agency Sues Indiana Phone Solicitors

The Federal Trade Commission has taken three Indiana telemarketers to federal court and accused them of falsely telling small businesses that they owed money for advertisements in publications affiliated with charitable or civic organizations.

The U.S. District Court in Fort Wayne ordered a temporary halt to the operations of the telemarketers: Omni Advertising, T.E.M.M. Marketing, and Tristate Advertising Unlimited.

The companies could not be reached for comment on the charges.

The F.T.C. said that the telemarketers told business owners that someone at their companies had authorized that an ad be placed and that advertising in — or supporting or contributing to — the widely distributed publications would give companies the chance to support important community causes.

But the Federal Trade Commission said that the businesses did not order the advertisements. The publications were rarely if ever distributed, the government said, and lacked the implied affiliation with community groups.

What’s more, the commission said that the small companies often faced repeated billings for more advertisements, whether authorized or not, and aggressive collection tactics for unauthorized invoices — including threats that bills would be turned over to a collection agency.