BROOKLYN, Iowa — Regulators are proposing a nearly $13 million fine against a podcaster accused of hiding the origin of automated phone calls that used the slaying of an Iowa college student to promote white nationalist messages.
The Federal Communications Commission says Scott Rhodes violated the Truth in Caller ID Act, which bars the manipulation of caller ID information. The Associated Press was unable to reach Rhodes for comment.
Officials say Rhodes used an autodialer to make hundreds of recorded calls to Brooklyn, Iowa, numbers, citing the killing of Mollie Tibbetts.
The Mexican man charged in her death, 25-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, is suspected of living in the U.S. illegally.