Deception in TCPA investigations - Watch where you step
- Peter Schneider
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Investigating telemarketing violations often involves some sort of deception. At the very least it might be staying on the phone listening to the sales agent when internally you know you didn't want the phone to ring.
And for the most part garden variety deception is fine. The patron saints of telemarketing often don't like it but usually there isn't anything they can do about it except put their finger on the scale a little harder. But it pays to know what lines not to cross, and what lines to be wary crossing. Take Specialty Med. Equip., Inc. v. Dobronski, No. 25-cv-10664, 2026 LX 72440 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 26, 2026) where legendary TCPA pro se plaintiff is battling a fraud and RICO lawsuit brought by an alleged telemarketer. Full disclosure, I don't know the actual truth of this lawsuit. My comments below are from taking the court opinion and filings at face value, and with reasonable inferences from the facts based on my own experiences.
Mr. Dobronski is a pro and I doubt he has done anything wrong, but our legal system doesn't actually care about right and wrong, it is a place where perception is reality and judges often want to craft their own narrative to create their preferred outcome. In this environment it is important not to hand them ammunition.
As always, the background is important to set the stage and this court opinion makes understanding the exact setup a little difficult. It appears that Mr. Dobronski received an unwanted telemarketing call from a Specialty Medical Equipment Inc., a seller of medical gear like walkers and back braces to people with Medicare insurance. This is just my opinion, but my experience suggests that Specialty Medical Equipment Inc is probably the seller behind a bunch of Pakistani robocalls pitching Medicare benefits reviews and their end goal is to get Medicare numbers and mail a bunch of junk to the elderly person the person doesn't need, and then bill Medicare for it. There are lots of calls like this running around.
Apparently Mr. Dobronski called back and gave Specialty Medical a false name and made up Medicare number. Mr. Dobronski may have invited a call back to a real (alternate to the number he called on?) phone number. The next day Mr. Dobronski called Specialty Medical back again using the same fake name. At some point Specialty Medical figured out the Medicare number was fake and called Mr. Dobronski back. Here is where some key facts come into play.
Dobronski called Specialty Medical back from a new Florida-based phone number owned by Safe Train, LLC. Id. Dobronski revealed his true identity and informed Specialty Medical that the Michigan-based call-back number it used on February 4 was registered on the Do Not Call Registry. Specialty Medical alleges that "the voice on this subsequent call was the same as that in the initial calls in which the Alias was provided by Mr. Dobronski, while previously posing as the Fake Patient."
Another key fact I infer from what I don't see in this lawsuit is that this - Mr. Dobronski's call might have happened in response to the first (provable perhaps) call from Specialty Medical. I infer this because I don't see a TCPA violation counterclaim by Mr. Dobronski, or an allegation by Mr. Dobronski that his call back was in response to investigating a string of unwanted calls from the same caller. Perhaps I will be proven wrong on this point.
Apparently unprompted by a lawsuit from Mr. Dobronski, Specialty Medical then sued him for fraud, alleging they spent money as a result of Mr. Dobronski calling back with the fake name and Medicare number, and for Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act (RICO) violations.
Many voice call TCPA investigations involve some amount of deception and very few TCPA defendants try fraud counterclaims because legally they don't really work and it looks really bad in front of a jury when a telemarketer is in the wrong and instead of looking repentant they try counterclaims. It is a good way to get a jury to max out damages. And what are the damages, fifty cents of some Pakistani call center time?
But this Specialty Medical lawsuit isn't about damages, it is the telemarketing industry trying to take out a perennial thorn in their side and like it or not Mr. Dobronski did a few things that aided the telemarketing industry in their quest.
Mr. Dobronski moved to dismiss this lawsuit and was denied and that's where the lessons come in. It can be hard to get fraud claims dismissed if the judge is a patron saint of telemarketing, after all most voice call TCPA violation investigations involve some element of deception. An off ramp for an honest judge is recognizing the value of a telemarketer's wasted time of is de minimis, but a patron saint judge doesn't have to. That judge can let a fifty cent claim go to trial. The joke is that in Washington State fraud claims don't get attorney fees if the plaintiff prevails so only in a teach-Mr.-Dobronski-a-lesson world does this $0.50 cent lawsuit go forward.
More interesting was the judge's reasoning on letting the RICO claims go forward. Mr. Dobronski has used this fake name (canary trap) investigative technique before in other lawsuits and that is what the judge homed in on.
Specialty Medical alleges that Dobronski's purpose in conducting the activity of his enterprise is to bring TCPA enforcement claims against entities that he believes violate the TCPA. Specialty Medical alleges that Dobronski does so "[b]y adopting false names and entities" and "fabricating scenarios to provoke calls or interactions with companies and then suing those companies for financial gain." The Court finds these allegations sufficient to satisfy the purpose element of an enterprise.
Safe Train LLC is some sort of corporation Mr. Dobronski runs, and he had a bit of bad luck / bad choices by involving a Safe Train LLC phone number into his TCPA investigation.
Specialty Medical also alleges that Dobronski acts in concert with his wife and uses telephone and communications equipment that is utilized by Safe Train and Mrs. Dobronski. These allegations are sufficient for alleging relationships of an enterprise.
RICO requires a pattern of racketeering activity and again Specialty Medical used some bad luck / bad choices against Mr. Dobronski.
Specialty Medical has alleged that Dobronski's fraudulent purpose of using false identities to gather information for TCPA claims has functioned for at least five years. The amended complaint cites Dobronski v. Total Insurance Brokers, LLC, No. 21-10035 Am. Compl., (E.D. Mich. March 1, 2021) and Dobronski v. Family First Life, LLC, No. 22-12039 Am. Compl., (E.D. Mich. Feb. 22, 2023) as two instances where Dobronski has filed complaints containing admissions that he has used a false identity to gather information for TCPA claims. See Am. Compl., Those cases—filed in 2021 and 2022—together with the instant case amount to an allegation of wrongful activity that spans at least five years. That is sufficient to demonstrate longevity.
And finally, going back to the investigation call Mr. Dobronski placed to Specialty Medical I foreshadowed:
Dobronski revealed his true identity and informed Specialty Medical that the Michigan-based call-back number it used on February 4 was registered on the Do Not Call Registry.
The court used that against Mr. Dobronski:
Specialty Medical has alleged that Dobronski initiated the phone call and provided false information to fabricate a scenario by which he could later bring a TCPA claim against Specialty Medical.
In my opinion Specialty Medical's lawsuit isn't going to get anything, but it isn't the point. It is to waste Mr. Dobronski's time and send a message to other pro-se's to back off the telemarketing industry.
So to sum it up, what lessons do I think we can learn here?
Don't investigate to early or at least use deception like fake medicare numbers to 'buy' something too early. It probably wasn't wise for Mr. Dobronski to make such an involved investigation until he had enough illegal calls to justify it.
I do think generally it pays for TCPA plaintiffs to be themselves. As in give your real name on the phone. Many judges hate you and Mr. Dobronski's use of false names gave this judge room to move in the direction he wanted to go. There can be exceptions to the rule, but they should be exceptions, not the rule.
Use investigation phones, but don't register them on the DNC list and don't sue or threaten to sue for calls placed to them. They are there to help you investigate, not create claims.
When your investigation is at the point you are calling and getting identities, follow up with DNC letters.
It is wise to partner with someone like us who can do an independent investigation that won't blow back on you.
Got a Case Like This?
If you’ve encountered similar issues with telemarketers, debt collectors, or bankruptcy-related harassment, we might feature your story in a future blog post. Email your situation or legal filing to peter@nwdebtresolution.com or nathen@nwdebtresolution.com.
📞 Call: 206-800-6000 / 971-800-6000
📧 Email: peter@nwdebtresolution.com
Note: The opinions in this blog are mine (Peter Schneider) and do not constitute legal advice. If you're considering suing over illegal robocalls or Do Not Call list violations, contact me for a legal consultation.
Comments