A Massachusetts-based company offering Social Security Disability advocacy services allegedly initiated or caused more than 25.7 million illegal telemarketing calls to phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry between 2019 and 2022.
A federal complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) outlines a vast and deceptive telemarketing operation run by Citizens Disability, LLC, and its subsidiary, CD Media, LLC. The system was designed to ensnare and sell services to some of the country’s most vulnerable populations: lower-income consumers and people with disabilities.
The lawsuit pulls back the curtain on the multi-million-dollar industry of “consent farms”. Those are deceptive websites which trick consumers into providing personal information and “agreeing” to be contacted. This article is ultimately about the architecture of our predatory late-stage system that weaponizes consumer data against the very people it claims to help.
Anatomy of a Deception
According to the FTC, the operation was deliberate, high-volume business model built on a foundation of deception. The core mechanics of the horrid scheme were as follows:
- Massive Scale: From January 2019 to July 2022, Citizens Disability and its contracted call centers initiated over 109 million outbound telephone calls.
- Outsourcing the Illegality: The company allegedly contracted with over 50 third-party lead generators and more than 15 call centers to conduct its campaigns, creating a layer of separation from the initial contact with consumers.
- The “Consent Farm”: The vast majority of customer leads were sourced from “consent farm” websites that had nothing to do with disability services. These sites lured consumers with offers of free coupons or entry into a $50,000 sweepstakes.
- Deceptive by Design: Consent to be called was allegedly buried in disproportionately small, difficult-to-read text. One website hid the consent agreement behind a hyperlink that, when clicked, revealed a list of nearly 290 different “marketing partners” from disparate industries. The FTC argues these design elements were crafted to “manipulate or trick consumers”.
- Illegal Robocalls: The company and its agents are accused of unleashing millions of illegal robocalls, some using soundboard technology with prerecorded responses to interact with consumers. In one two-month period in 2019, a single robocall campaign initiated over 46 million calls.
- False Pretenses: During these calls, telemarketers allegedly misrepresented the reason for their call, often beginning with a script like, “it show[s] here that you recently inquired about your eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits,” when no such inquiry had been made.
- Ignoring a Court Order: The complaint notes that a federal court has already ruled against Citizens Disability in a previous case, finding that the “consent” obtained from one of the sweepstakes websites was not valid. Despite this, and numerous other consumer lawsuits and government inquiries, the company allegedly continued its practices.
The Consequences
The fallout from this immoral scheme extends far beyond simple annoyance, revealing a systemic erosion of consumer protection and trust.
The Exploitation of Vulnerable Populations
The operation’s alleged targets were not random. The complaint states that telemarketers specifically sought consumers aged 50-64, the unemployed, and those not currently represented by an attorney. By using deceptive claims of a “recent inquiry,” the evil company tricked consumers into providing sensitive personal information (including social security numbers, medical histories, and employment records) under the false belief that the call was legitimate. This constitutes a predatory feedback loop, where individuals seeking help are instead targeted for high-pressure sales.
The Erosion of Public Trust
The National Do Not Call Registry was established as a firewall to protect consumers from unwanted intrusions. By allegedly making over 25.7 million calls to registered numbers, this operation actively undermines a critical piece of public infrastructure, rendering it ineffective and breeding cynicism. When normal people believe we are being contacted in response to a benefit inquiry, it blurs the line between a government-related service and a private sales pitch, degrading trust in the very systems designed to provide a social safety net.
A System That Won’t Shut Down
The Department of Justice and the FTC are seeking a permanent injunction to halt these practices and impose civil penalties for every violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. However, the complaint reveals a deeper systemic issue. Citizens Disability continued its telemarketing practices even after being sued multiple times and being explicitly warned by government entities like the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
This whole ass scandal demonstrates that for some (most imo) companies, lawsuits and consumer complaints are merely a cost of doing business, not a deterrent. The true failure lies in the unregulated data-broker and “consent farm” ecosystem, which allows consumer data to be harvested and sold to the highest bidder with little transparency or accountability.
Meaningful accountability would require not just penalizing a single company like Citizens Disability, but dismantling the shadowy network of lead generators that supply the ammunition for these predatory campaigns. Until such a happy day comes to pass, the phone will keep ringing.
The FTC has a press release about this scandal: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/citizens-disability-pay-1-million-over-ftc-charges-it-made-tens-millions-illegal-misleading-calls
It also led to the FTC having an additional info blurb, which is kinda neat I guess: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2025/09/are-you-telemarketing-business-heres-what-know-about-citizens-disability
If you want to spam call the spam caller back, Citizens Disability can be reached by calling 1-781-854-4857
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