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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel filed a consumer protection lawsuit on Tuesday against an identification (ID) card maker that allegedly made misleading statements about the official legal status of its cards.
The Connecticut-based AmeraCard Enterprises and Joseph Cassara, the company's owner, allegedly produced and sold ID cards that were meant to resemble state-issued driver's licenses and ID cards. AmeraCard allegedly advertised the ID cards as being legally issued or required by law, even though the cards are not legal forms of identification.
“These cards are advertised as being acceptable as secondary identification and in some instances, even as a primary ID," McDaniel said. "Those claims and the other claims used by the company to urge Arkansas vendors to sell these IDs are patently false. These bogus ID cards are a waste of money for consumers.”
Vendors in Arkansas who sell the card on behalf of AmeraCard allegedly sold approximately 1,200 cards for $70 each since 2009. McDaniel alleged the defendants represented that the card could be used as a primary or secondary form of identification. He also alleged that a fine-print disclaimer on the back of the cards was not enough to keep consumers from believing them to be actual IDs.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. McDaniel seeks consumer restitution, civil penalties, attorney fees and an injunction to prohibit the defendants from engaging in deceptive marketing practices.