SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office announced that a King County Superior Judge ordered Mandatory Poster Agency (MPA) to pay $1.15 million over allegations of defrauding thousands of Washington small businesses.
“This scam - by repeat offenders - stole cash out of the pockets of hardworking small-business owners,” Ferguson said. “When scammers mislead people into paying money they don’t owe, my office will hold them accountable.”
MPA, which also does business as Corporate Records Service, allegedly sent envelopes marked “Important: Annual Minutes Requirement Statement” to an estimated 80,000 Washington businesses between 2012 and 2013. According to the state’s charges, the instructions within these envelopes asked business owners to send a completed form with $125 payments to a post office box in Olympia.
As part of the judgment, MPA will pay $793,540 in civil penalties and up to $362,625 in restitution for victims.