(WNY News Now) HARRISBURGA Attorney General Michelle Henry said today that her office has sued a Florida-based corporation and its owners for allegedly robbing prospective business owners of their money by posing as the Pennsylvania Department of State.
PA Corporate Certificates, LLC and its proprietors Brian Capobiano, Dean Marshlack, and David Marshlack are named in the action, which was submitted to the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. The company is suspected of giving a Subsistence Certificate to more than 1,000 recently registered businesses in Pennsylvania in order to collect payments. Although it costs $40 and is a valid document, not all firms need it. PA Corporate Certificates deceived business owners into thinking the certificate was required by inflating the cost to $102.50.
Attorney General Henry claimed that this out-of-state corporation preyed on new business owners by pretending to be a government body. Since entrepreneurs and new companies boost communities and local economies, the Office of Attorney General takes any attempt to take advantage of business owners extremely seriously.
In order to further deceive recipients into purchasing the superfluous certificate, PA Corporate Certificates created bogus letters that looked like official mail from the Pennsylvania Department of State. Many owners have nothing to show for their money because some businesses obtained certificates while others did not.
An order to halt the fraudulent operations, complete reimbursements for impacted business owners, and civil penalties of up to $1,000 per infraction are among the remedies sought in the case.
Owners of businesses that have received a letter from PA Corporate Certificates are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s office by phone at 1-800-441-2555 or online to file a complaint.
The accused is deemed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, just like everyone else who is accused of a crime.