Attorney General Greg Abbott sued the THPA, (deceitfully named “Texas Highway Patrol Association) for taking donations under false claims they would pay money to families of slain state troopers. By using a name that illegally included “Texas Highway Patrol” , the organization tricked people into thinking they were associated with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The THPA’s telemarketers raised money through telephone scam pitches, claiming they provided “trooper benefits” including “a monetary benefit of $10,000 to the survivors of any trooper who is killed in the line of duty,” and a $2,500 “funeral benefit,” according to the complaint.
Under the settlement, the THPA’s assets and property will be liquidating, and after surviving family members are paid the $10,000 they were promised, the rest of the money will be donated to the Texas Department of Public Safety Foundation and the Department of Public Safety Historical Museum and Research Foundation, which will give it to slain troopers’ family members.
The settlement imposed a $1 million civil penalty against THPA director Kenneth Denton, $500,000 each against its vice president Timothy Tierney and director Ruben Villalva Jr.
If you have instructed telemarketers to stop contacting you and they continue to call, they may be in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and may owe you compensation. Please give my office, The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman a call at 877-449-8898 for a free consultation.
