Corporate Compliance Scam Continues. . .
. . But some of the perpetrators may have been caught.
California
California businesses have recent reports. The scam seems to have been operating in California for years.
Colorado
There are reports of the scam in Colorado: State Corporate Compliance fraud. The Secretary of State is also getting complaints about the Colorado Compliance Recorder: Updated Notice Regarding “Annual Minutes” Solicitations
Indiana
Indiana issued a warning that several businesses have reported receiving a deceptive letter that would appear to come from an official government source. The letter solicits an annual fee of $125 or $150 and claims it will be used for record keeping and processing of a company’s annual minutes. It gives the appearance of coming from a legitimate government agency and cites fictitious state law. Scam Alert for Businesses in Indiana. But the Secretary of State has filed a complaint to try to stop the scam.
Montana
Montana has issued a warning, although the Secretary of State has not received any complaints and is not aware of any Montana businesses being affected: Business Scam Alert (.pdf) (I am not sure that I agree that the scam is “potentially dangerous.”)
New York
In the Empire State, it looks like the scam has spread to condominiums and cooperatives: Scam or Useful Service? The Corporate Records Compliance Office Speaks
Texas
It looks like the scam has been operating in Texas for a few years, masquerading as a state agency. They may have caught the person behind some of it: Californian Charged With Unlawfully Profiting From Fake State Document Scheme.
Others
Previously, I noted that the scam was found in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio.
Catching the Bad Guys
Its not clear if the scams in each state are perpetrated by the same group. The Indiana Secretary of State filed a complaint against Aaron V. Williams of Las Vegas, Lisa Diane Brown of California and several companies affiliated with them. The Texas Attorney General filed suit against Jonathan Garner (a/k/a Jonathan Gonen, Jonathan Gonan) and his companies: Corporate Compliance, inc. Discount Business Services, Inc. and Metro Enterprisese, Inc. (Of course these people have merely charged and are not necessarily guilty.)
References:
- Indiana Complaint Against International Corporate Marketing, et al – Hosted on JDsupra
- Texas Complaint Against Corporate Compliance, Inc., et al – Hosted on JDsupra
- California Law Blog: Indiana Secretary of State Corporate Minutes Mailings
- Corporate Compliance Insights: The compliance scams continue. Beware!
With the Tags: Colorado, corporate compliance business services scam, Indiana, Montana, New York, Texas
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I just got another Compliance Services request. This time from North Carolina.
Any one know anything about this one?
It’s a scam. They are using a private mailbox in a UPS Store in downtown Raleigh. Anyone who has lost money to this Raleigh, NC version of the scam is invited to contact Jennifer Pulley of the NC Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, tel. 919-716-6000.
[...] Corporate Compliance Scam Continues. . . [...]
Since it seems these people are using the UPS stores as the primary return addresses for their scam, shouldn’t the UPS stores be considered aiding and abbetting?
I dis also get a letter from Compliance Services (P.O.Box 1265 Studio City, CA 91614) for @125. I believ this is scam.