Wow, I’m not sure how this is even legal, but I just received a demanding letter from a fraudulent organization calling itself “Business Filings Division” that is attempting to scam Laughing Squid into paying them $239.00. The letter they sent (front & back) is very similar to the annual “Statement of Information” form that the California Secretary of State requires of Limited Liability Companies in California.
The letter threatens us that if we do not pay their $239.00 fee that our LLC will be suspended and that we will lose the right to conduct business.
The California Secretary of State has issued a customer alert regarding the fraudulent Business Filings Divsion scam along with information on how to report these letters.
Here are more reports of the Business Filings Division scam from The Consumerist, Frye / Wiles, TaxLoopholes and MyWifeQuitHerJob.com.
UPDATE 1: Ha, check it out, Business Filings Division is on Yelp. Too bad that you can give negative star ratings.
UPDATE 2: California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. is suing serveral organizations that are operating scams targeting small business owners, including Business Filings Division, which is run by George Alan Miller, Rebecca Miller, Arghisti Keshishyan and Kristina Keshishyan.