COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio has settled a federal lawsuit against six companies and four people who deceived Ohio consumers with illegal robocalls offering bogus credit card interest rate reduction services.

Globex Telecom, Inc. and associates agreed to pay Ohio and the Federal Trade Commission a total of $2.1 million, with $1.95 million coming from Globex.

Globex was behind illegal robocalls for Educare Centre Services, Inc., which defrauded consumers in Ohio and other parts of the country out of millions of dollars with a debt relief scheme, according to the lawsuit.

"Not only were these fraudsters bombarding Ohioans with illegal robocalls, but they were also peddling a bogus pitch and demanding upfront fees," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.

This groundbreaking lawsuit was the first of its kind in the country to go after a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider knowingly facilitating the scheme.

Under terms of the settlement, Globex and its subsidiaries, including an Ohio VoIP service provider and two others, must screen and monitor clients and block calls from suspicious phone numbers such as "911," unassigned or invalid numbers, or international numbers that charge consumers should consumers attempt to dial it.

Calls using "spoofing" technology to fool people into believing the call is from someone else must be blocked.

Finally, Globex must cut ties with telemarketers that receive a certain number of industry complaints about unlawful calls.

Ohio and the FTC alleged that Globex and Educare were controlled by Mohammed Souheil, a Canadian national and Globex's former CEO and president.

As a result of the settlements, Souheil and certain other defendants are prohibited from telemarketing in the U.S., from marketing debt relief products or services, and from otherwise using misrepresentations in the sale or marketing of any product or service.

Further, Globex and its U.S.-based subsidiaries are prohibited from hiring Souheil, any of Souheil's immediate family members, or any other individual defendants.