Committee Subpoenas Companies Claiming to Sell Private Phone Records

WASHINGTON - A dozen companies that offer to sell detailed records of private phone calls have been served with subpoenas signed by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, the panel announced today.

The move is the latest in an ongoing investigation into the Internet sale of phone records and other personal information to criminals, stalkers or anyone else. Batches of records typically sell for $100. Since launching the inquiry on Feb. 3, the committee has identified individuals in the U.S. and Canada behind 26 Web sites offering to violate consumers' privacy by disclosing the phone records. On March 8 the committee approved bipartisan legislation outlawing the practice and granting consumers new protections.

The committee's ranking member, U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.; Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.; and the subcommittee's ranking member, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., joined Chairman Barton in writing to the companies in February, asking them to provide the information voluntarily. They have so far refused, triggering the issuance of subpoenas, some of which required a U.S. Marshal to track down elusive addressees.

The subpoenas seek copies of revenue reports; annual federal and state tax returns; business practices; price and service listings; advertisements; any records maintained on an individual or entity that was targeted by the company or that supported its work; contacts with clients; records relating to consumer protection laws; and other information.

The 12 individuals subpoenaed were:

• Carlos Anderson of C.F. Anderson PI of Hollywood, Fla., which manages Anderson-pi.com;
• Patrick Baird, director of PDJ Services of Granbury, Texas, which manages phonebust.com;
• Tim Berndt, chief investigator for ReliaTrace Locate Services of Hudson, Wis., which manages reliatrace.com and reliablelitigation.com;
• David Kacala, director of Information Search Inc. of Baltimore, which manages information-search.com;
• Lisa M. Loftus, registered agent of Efindoutthetruth.com, Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., which manages efindoutthetruth.com;
• Bruce Martin, president of Advanced Research, Inc. of Lebanon, Ore., which manages advsearch.com;
• Dana Owen, president of CSI of America of Bellingham, Wash., which manages csiofamerica.com;
• Jay Patel, president of AccuSearch, Inc. of Cheyenne, Wyo., which manages abika.com;
• Skipp Porteous, president of Sherlock Investigations of New York City, which manages sherlockinvestigations.com;
• Steven Schwartz, director of First Source Information Specialists, Inc., of Tamarac, Fla., which manages the datafind.org, locatecell.com, celltolls.com, and peoplesearchamerica.com sites;
• John Strange, president of Worldwide Investigations, Inc. of Denver, which manages usaskiptrace.com; and
• Michele Yontef of Telcosecrets of Tuscon, Ariz., which manages telcosecrets.com.

The subpoenas read as follows:

1. All records related to the services provided by the Business during the period 2000 to the present, including, but not limited to:

a) all advertisements of any form including, but not limited to, those placed in newspapers, magazines, classifieds, trade journals, conference materials, direct mail, facsimiles, emails, Internet chat rooms, Internet newsgroups, Internet posting groups or discussion forums, instant messages and yellow pages;

b) all versions of all Web sites associated with the Business;

c) all price lists or service descriptions created by the Business, whether for internal or external use;

d) all records reflecting professional association memberships or affiliations (i) of the Business, and (ii) of all employees and agents of the Business;

e) all local, state and federal licenses of any type (i) for the Business, and (ii) for all employees and agents of the Business;

f) all records related to telephone "skip tracing" seminars including, but not limited to, certificates of attendance, registration applications, records of attendance, course materials, and course curricula;

g) all corporate, partnership or other business filings, registrations, and license applications;

h) all records related to any third-party private investigator or information broker of any kind including, but not limited to, applications, contracts, price lists, service descriptions, subscriber agreements, or other agreements;

i) all records related to "spoofing" services including, but not limited to, applications, contracts, registrations, prices lists, service descriptions, or access information;

j) all records that reflect or identify in any way the individuals who possess any ownership interest in the Business including, but not limited to, stock ledgers; shareholder lists; lists of corporate officers and executives; and lists of employees, subcontractors, agents, consultants, independent contractors, and other individuals who work for or provide services to the business;

k) all federal and state income tax returns for the Business from 2000 to the present;

l) all records that reflect, describe, refer to, explain, or are otherwise related to, the methods used by the Business to procure cell phone related records or other personal consumer information;

m) all records that reflect or relate to scripts, pretexts, "Trojan" communications with consumers, social engineering, "gagging," "spoofing," "skip tracing," impersonation, deception, or accessing customer accounts via telephone, the Internet, or written communication, including but not limited to, books, manuals, articles, pamphlets, emails, trade journals, conference materials, Internet chat room communications, newsgroups, posting groups or discussion forums, instant messages, training materials, and course curricula;

n) all records that reflect or relate to any training or instruction provided by the Business (or its officers, employees, or agents) on the topics of scripts, pretexts, "Trojan" communications with consumers, social engineering, "gagging," "spoofing," "skip tracing," impersonation, deception, or accessing customer accounts via telephone, the Internet, or written communication;

o) all records that reflect or relate to the use of proprietary telephone company information or internal operating procedures including, but not limited to, all materials obtained or distributed during training or instruction seminars or programs;

p) all records that relate to any Internet chat room, newsgroup, posting group or discussion forum, or instant messaging or electronic correspondence system, provided by or through any Web site owned or operated by the Business including, but not limited to, communications from or postings by the Business, its employees, its agents, or any subscribers to any such communications fora; and

q) all phone records of the Business for the period 2000 to the present.

2. All records that reflect or relate to the applicability or non-applicability (i) to the use of scripts, pretexts, "Trojan" communications with consumers, social engineering, "gagging," "spoofing," "skip tracing," impersonation, deception, or of accessing customer accounts via telephone, the Internet, or written communication, for the purpose of marketing, procuring, possessing, using, or selling cell phone related records or other personal consumer information, or (ii) to any other business practice of the Business, of any of the following:

a) Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act;

b) Fair Credit Reporting Act;

c) Federal Trade Commission Act;

d) Any state unfair and deceptive trade practices statute;

e) Any regulations adopted pursuant to any of the foregoing statutes;

f) Any state or federal judicial decision that discusses the applicability or non-applicability of any of the foregoing statutes or regulations.

3. All records that refer or relate to, or contain information about "permissible purposes" for procuring, possessing, using, providing, or selling cell phone related records or other personal consumer information.

4. All records that relate to any individual or entity who or which provided the Business with cell phone related records or other personal consumer information during the period 2000 to the present including, but not limited to:

a) contracts or other agreements with any such individual or entity, and all records that relate to any such contracts or other agreements;

b) correspondence or other communications with any such individual or entity, regardless of the form or format of such correspondence or other communication including, but not limited to, emails, written correspondence, notes, facsimiles, communications in Internet chat rooms, newsgroups, posting groups or discussion forums, instant messaging, or other Web-based communication;

c) cell phone related records or other personal consumer information provided by any such individual or entity;

d) records that reflect or relate to payments made to any such individual or entity including, but not limited to, cancelled checks, notes, credit card receipts, other online payment system receipts, business or payables reports, invoices, emails, bills or billing statements, printouts of computer screen displays, payment records, correspondence, expenditure reports, and spreadsheets;

e) all records that reflect or relate to any request made by any federal, state, or local government official, agency, or law enforcement official or agency, for cell phone related records or other personal consumer information.

5. All records that reflect or relate to the customers or clients of the Business during the period 2000 to the present including, but not limited to:

a) contracts or other agreements with the customer or client, and all records that relate to any such contracts or other agreements;

b) correspondence or other communications with the customer or client, regardless of the form or format of such correspondence or other communication including but not limited to emails, written correspondence, notes, facsimile, communications in Internet chat rooms, newsgroups, posting groups or discussion forums, instant messaging, or other Web-based communications;

c) cell phone related records or other personal consumer information provided to the customer or client;

d) records that reflect or relate to the cost of services provided to the customer or client including, but not limited to, price sheets, invoices, emails, billing statements, business or receivables reports, and printouts of computer screen displays;

e) records that reflect or relate to payments received from the customer or client including, but not limited to, cancelled checks, notes, correspondence, spreadsheets, printouts of computer screen displays, credit card company payment records, other online payment system payment records, and business or revenue reports;

f) all records that reflect or relate to any request made by any federal, state, or local government official, agency, or law enforcement official or agency, for cell phone related records or other personal consumer information.

Instructions

1. In complying with this subpoena, you are required to produce all responsive records that are in your possession, custody, or control, whether held by you or your past or present agents, employees, and representatives acting on your behalf. You are also required to produce records that you have a legal right to obtain, that you have a right to copy or to which you have access, as well as records that you have placed in the temporary possession, custody, or control of any third party. No records, documents, data or information called for by this request shall be destroyed, modified, removed, transferred or otherwise made inaccessible to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
2. In the event that any entity, organization or individual denoted in this subpoena has been, or is also known by any other name than that herein denoted, the subpoena shall be read also to include them under that alternative identification.
3. Each record produced shall be produced in a form that renders the record capable of being copied.
4. Records produced in response to this subpoena shall be produced together with copies of file labels, dividers or identifying markers with which they were associated when this subpoena was served.
5. All records, or groups of records, produced shall be identified by the paragraph number in the Attachment to which records, or groups of records, are responsive.
6. It shall not be a basis for refusal to produce records that any other person or entity also possesses non-identical or identical copies of the same document.
7. If any of the subpoenaed information is available in machine-readable form (such as punch cards, paper or magnetic tapes, drums, disks, or core storage), state the form in which it is available and provide sufficient detail to allow the information to be copied to a readable format. If the information requested is stored in a computer, indicate whether you have an existing program that will print the records in a readable form.
8. If compliance with the subpoena cannot be made in full, compliance shall be made to the extent possible, and your production shall be accompanied by a written explanation of why full compliance is not possible.
9. In the event that a record is not produced on the ground of privilege, provide the following information concerning each and every such record withheld from production: (a) privilege asserted; (b) type of document; (c) general subject matter; (d) date, author and addressee; and (e) relationship of author and addressee.
10. If any record responsive to this subpoena was, but no longer is, in your possession, custody, or control, identify the record (stating its date, author, subject and recipient(s)) and explain the circumstances by which the record ceased to be in your possession, custody, or control.
11. If a date or other descriptive detail set forth in this subpoena referring to a record is inaccurate, but the actual date or other descriptive detail is known to you or is otherwise apparent from the context of the request, you should produce all records which would be responsive as if the date or other descriptive detail were correct.
12. This request is continuing in nature and applies to any newly-discovered information. Any record, document, compilation of data or information, not produced because it has not been located or discovered by the return date, shall be produced immediately upon location or discovery subsequent thereto.
13. All records shall be bates-stamped sequentially and produced sequentially.
14. Two sets of responsive records shall be produced and delivered to Room 2125, Rayburn House Office Building.

Definitions

1. The term "the Business" means Accusearch, Inc. and all affiliated businesses, including all Internet Web sites.
2. The term "record" means any written, recorded, or graphic matter of any nature whatsoever, regardless of how recorded, and whether original or copy, including, but not limited to, the following: memoranda, reports, expense reports, books, manuals, instructions, financial reports, working papers, records notes, letters, spreadsheets, notices, confirmations, telegrams, receipts, appraisals, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, prospectuses, interoffice and intra office communications, electronic mail (e-mail), contracts, cables, notations of any type of conversation, telephone call, meeting or other communication, bulletins, printed matter, computer printouts, teletypes, invoices, transcripts, diaries, analyses, returns, summaries, minutes, bills, accounts, estimates, projections, comparisons, messages, correspondence, press releases, circulars, financial statements, reviews, opinions, offers, studies and investigations, questionnaires and surveys, and work sheets (and all drafts, preliminary versions, alterations, modifications, revisions, changes, and amendments of any of the foregoing, as well as any attachments or appendices thereto), and graphic or oral records or representations of any kind (including without limitation, photographs, charts, graphs, microfiche, microfilm, videotape, recordings and motion pictures), and electronic, mechanical, and electric records or representations of any kind (including, without limitation, tapes, cassettes, disks, and recordings) and other written, printed, typed, or other graphic or recorded matter of any kind or nature, however produced or reproduced, and whether preserved in writing, film, tape, disk, videotape or otherwise. A document bearing any notation not a part of the original text is to be considered a separate document. A draft or non-identical copy is a separate document within the meaning of this term.
3. The term "communication" means each manner or means of disclosure or exchange of information, regardless of means utilized, whether oral, electronic, by document or otherwise, and whether face-to-face, in a meeting, by telephone, mail, telexes, discussions, releases, personal delivery, or otherwise.
4. The terms "and" and "or" shall be construed broadly and either conjunctively or disjunctively to bring within the scope of this subpoena any information which might otherwise be construed to be outside its scope. The singular includes plural number, and vice versa. The masculine includes the feminine and neuter genders.
5. The term "identify," when used in a question about individuals, means provide the following information: (a) the individual's complete name and title; and (b) the individual's business address and phone number.
6. The terms "referring or relating," with respect to any given subject, means anything that constitutes, contains, embodies, reflects, identifies, states, refers to, deals with or is in any manner whatsoever pertinent to that subject.
7. The term "personal consumer information" includes, but is not limited to, landline telephone numbers and accounts, non-published or unlisted telephone numbers, credit card billing statements, customer name and address (CNA) information, utility bills and account information, pager numbers, cell phone "ping" (location), disconnected telephone numbers, social security numbers, credit reports, post office box information, bank account and asset information, and other consumer proprietary network information (CPNI).

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