Class action claims Sprint Nextel violated RICO law: Lawsuit centered on carrier’s picture mail service

A class action lawsuit filed against Sprint Nextel Corp. claims the struggling No. 3 mobile-phone operator violated federal anti-racketeering laws by failing to adequately inform consumers about data fees accompanying picture mail service subscriptions.
“The purpose and intent of these deceptive, false, fraudulent and misleading advertisements was to entice and/or lure Sprint Nextel customers into purchasing the ‘Sprint Picture Mail’ plan for a $5/month service charge without disclosing the true charges associated with this add-on service, which were exorbitant and in many cases caused the purchaser’s bill to double,” the suit stated.
The class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham.
Sprint Nextel declined to comment on the suit.
While class action lawsuits are not new to Sprint Nextel and other national wireless carriers, the application of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law is not common in consumer litigation against the $120 billion cellular industry.
The RICO statute has been traditionally used as a tool to crack down on organized crime and racketeering operating across state lines, but the law has evolved to encompass illegal activities involving any enterprise impacting interstate or foreign commerce.
The lawsuit said examples of allegedly illicit behavior “include but are not limited to investing the income in the marketing, facilitation and management of offers integral to continuing and expanding the scheme; in paying employees for their role in that process, including bonuses tied to revenue generated from the scheme; maintaining existing facilities and framework of the scheme; engaging in various contractual relationships; and otherwise maintaining these enterprises.”
Besides asking the court to force Sprint Nextel to cease Picture Mail Plan advertising at issue and to disclose all related charges in itemized fashion on consumers’ bills, plaintiffs’ lawyers are seeking monetary damages — actual and punitive — as well as attorneys’ fees and expenses. They have requested a jury trial.