Washington AG sues Michigan company accused of defrauding thousands of small businesses

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing a Michigan company accused of defrauding thousands of small businesses in Washington state.

The business, Labor Law Poster Service, is run by three brothers. In a press release detailing the lawsuit, Ferguson says the schemes have varied, but all involve deceptive solicitations “giving the false impression that they are mandatory bills from a government agency.”

This is the same company that the Attorney General’s office investigated in 2008. In that case, the Michigan brothers – Joseph, Thomas and Steven Fata – were required to clearly disclose on its solicitations that it is not a government agency, nor is it affiliated with the government.

But the company allegedly did not stop.

In 2016, a King County Superior Court judge ruled that Mandatory Poster Agency, a company run by the brothers, violated the Consumer Protection Act more than 79,000 times and ordered to pay a restitution of $1.15 million.

Mandatory Poster Agency is the name the brothers used before changing it Labor Law Poster Service.

The judgment included $793,540 in civil penalties, and up to $342,625. The court also ordered the brothers to stop their illegal conduct.

But, despite paying the fine, the brothers continued their illegal activity, according to Ferguson.

On Monday, filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court against Labor Law Poster Service. The lawsuit says the company violated the state Consumer Protection Act more than 300,000 times in the last seven years. The lawsuit also accuses the company violated the previous permanent injunction.

In a press conference Monday, Ferguson said, “these repeat offenders keep recycling deceptive tactics know are unlawful. We will make them return every penny, plus interest, to small business owners they harmed. We’ll also seek a significant penalty to make sure they stop their Illegal conduct.”

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