Tag: Robert Teel

The Recording of Prisoner Phone Calls: Privacy and the U.S. Constitution

February 26, 2016

Prison and jail communications is a $1.2 billion a year business.  Securus Technologies, Inc. is leading provider of phone services inside the country’s prisons and jails serving approximately 2,000 correctional facilities and more than 850,000 inmates in 45 states.  The company processes over one million calls per day. Securus’ website claims that its database contains … More The Recording of Prisoner Phone Calls: Privacy and the U.S. Constitution

Sheepskins and False Hopes: Financial Fraud Alleged Against the Academy of Art University

February 24, 2016

  Can anyone really make a career as a professional artist?  According to the folks at the Academy of Art University, that is the “revolutionary principle” that has taken enrollment through the roof from 2,200 to 16,000, while bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues from starry-eyed art students subsidized by federal … More Sheepskins and False Hopes: Financial Fraud Alleged Against the Academy of Art University

Possible Debt Relief for Victims of For-Proft College False Advertising

February 23, 2016

DeVry University is one of the nation’s largest for-profit colleges with nearly $2 billion dollars a year in revenue and over $1 billion dollars in market capitalization.  Now, the government is accusing the school of deceiving consumers about the likelihood of finding a job. The Federal Trade Commission is suing DeVry for misleading consumers about the employment and … More Possible Debt Relief for Victims of For-Proft College False Advertising

New Rate Caps for Prison Phone Calls

February 21, 2016

Prison and jail phone calls, which typically cost much more than non-prison calls. Loved ones and friends have had to pay up $1 per minute to talk to an incarcerated parent.  This is because many prisons and jails profit by granting monopoly telephone contracts to the company that will charge families the most. Prison phone contracts are based … More New Rate Caps for Prison Phone Calls

Modern Day Slavery: A $150 Billion Business

February 20, 2016

Human trafficking is the fastest growing means by which people are enslaved, the fastest growing international crime, and one of the largest sources of illegal profits. (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). $150 billion: ILO report, “Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour” (2014) available for download here. According to the International Labour … More Modern Day Slavery: A $150 Billion Business

The TCPA: Telemarketers Could Be Paying You $500 to $1500 Per Junk Text or Fax

February 19, 2016

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) Federal and state laws prohibit using an automated telephone dialing system to make or send unsolicited telemarketing calls, texts, and faxes.  You could be entitled to $500 to $1,500 per call from any telemarketer who violates the TCPA.  The law specifies several technical requirements for telemarketers to lawfully use … More The TCPA: Telemarketers Could Be Paying You $500 to $1500 Per Junk Text or Fax