Wilmington man facing possible $82 million fine

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington man is facing a possible fine of $82,106,000 by the Federal Communications Commission.

Philip Roesel, owner of Wilmington Health Insurance Quotes, is facing the proposed fine for apparently making millions of illegally spoofed robocalls.

The FCC claims Roesel made more than 21,000,000 illegally spoofed robocalls across the country to sell health insurance.

After Roesel’s call records from October 2016 through January 2017 were subpoenaed, the FCC verified 82,106 health insurance telemarketing calls made during that time used falsified caller ID information.

The FCC added Roesel was targeting vulnerable consumers including the elderly, the disabled, and low-income families.

WWAY reached out to Roesel by phone and stopped by the address on his website, a home which neighbors said is Roesel’s office, but he was not there.

Neighbors confirmed Roesel lives in Carolina Beach, but no one answered the door there either.

The FCC said the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 prohibits callers from deliberately falsifying caller ID information to disguise their identity with intent to harm, defraud, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.

Spoofing is essentially when someone calls using a false number to disguise their identity.

In an unrelated case, WWAY reported on another spoofing incident where a man’s number was stolen to help scammers steal money, click here for the full story.

To learn more about spoofing and the Federal Communications Committee, click here.