LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed charges against a Florida company that allegedly used fraudulent practices against Michigan businesses, according to an official press release.
St. Petersburg, Florida-based CA Certificate Service, posing as MI Certificate Service, allegedly sent letters to new limited liability companies in Michigan that used language to appear as an official State government letter.
The purpose of these letters was to sell Certificates of Good Standing for $72.50 each while also using language to make businesses think they must pay for one.
These certificates are actually optional, and are sold by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for $10 each.
“Businesses using fake documents that purport to be official State of Michigan forms is not only intentionally misleading, it’s illegal,” Nessel said in the press release. “Our office will not permit any business to take advantage of our residents. All companies that want to do business in Michigan will be held to the same laws and standards, regardless of where they are located.”
Nessel’s Consumer Protection Bureau has successfully returned over $373,000 to Michigan victims of fraudulent business this year alone.
