PHOENIX (AP) - Attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit Tuesday against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry.

The 141-page suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner Michael D. Lansky and company's vice president Stacey S. Reeves.

The suit arises from the nationwide, bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 attorneys general and the District of Columbia. It was formed last year to investigate and take legal action against telecommunications companies routing volumes of robocall traffic.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said nearly 197 million of the robocalls were made to Arizona phone numbers between December 2018 and January 2023.

"Every day, countless Arizona consumers are harassed and annoyed by a relentless barrage of unwanted robocalls - and in some instances these illegal calls threaten consumers with lawsuits and arrest," Mayes said in a statement. "More disturbingly, many of these calls are scams designed to pressure frightened consumers, often senior citizens, into handing over their hard-earned money."

The suit said Avid Telecom used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers, including more than 8.4 million calls that appeared to be coming from government and law enforcement agencies as well as private companies.

The company also allegedly sent or transmitted scam calls about the Social Security Administration, Medicare, Amazon and DirecTV as well as auto warranties, employment and credit card interest rate reductions.