Attorney General Michelle Henry announced her office has submitted for filing a lawsuit against a Florida-based company and its owners for allegedly impersonating the Pennsylvania Department of State as part of a scam to get money from owners of newly-registered businesses.
PA Corporate Certificates, LLC, contacted Pennsylvania-based business owners to solicit purchases of a Subsistence Certificate, which is a legitimate document that costs $40, but is not necessary for all businesses.
PA Corporate Certificates inflated the price to $102.50, and received payment from more than 1,000 business owners. To perpetrate the alleged scam, PA Corporate Certificates sent letters that appeared to be from the Department of State and misrepresented the purpose or benefit of a Subsistence Certificate.
“This out-of-state company preyed on new business owners by allegedly impersonating a government agency,” Attorney General Henry said. “Entrepreneurs and new businesses revitalize local economies and enhance communities, so the Office of Attorney General takes very seriously any and all attempts to exploit business owners.”
Anyone who received a letter from PA Corporate Certificates, should file a complaint with the Office of Attorney General online or by phone at 1-800-441-2555.
The suit is filed against PA Corporate Certificates, LLC, and its owners – Brian Capobiano, Dean Marshlack, and David Marshlack.
The Pennsylvania Department of State, which has issued a warning that PA Corporate Certificates is a scam, and the Office of Attorney General, believe that numerous Pennsylvania business owners have fallen victim to this scam.
Some businesses received certificates; some did not.
The lawsuit asks the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas for: an injunction to stop the Defendants from operating their scam in Pennsylvania, full refunds for every Pennsylvania business owner who purchased a certificate, and civil penalties of up to $1,000, per violation of the law.
Original source can be found here.