Wisconsin DOJ Files Lawsuit Against Florida Company

Monday, October 17th, 2022 -- 12:00 PM

(WMTV) The state’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a Florida company accused of tricking thousands of fledgling Wisconsin companies into filing a government form through it and charging many times what the form would typically cost.

In a lawsuit filed late last month, the Wisconsin DOJ alleges the company, Centurion Filing Services, LLC, sent approximately 65,000 mailers between November 2020 and mid-2022 to newly formed businesses encouraging the companies to file a “Certificate of Status” form through its agency.

That type of form comes from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and includes information such as the company’s name, when it was formed, and its current status. At the time the mailers were sent, DFI charged $10 for a “Certificate of Status.”

Centurion, on the other hand, allegedly wanted $72.50. Nearly 1 in 10 businesses that received the form replied, the DOJ’s lawsuit stated. The DOJ noted that Centurion used the name WI Certificate Service or Wisconsin Certificate Service along with a Madison, Wisconsin return address.

The state agency argues this was done to fool the recipients into believing the mailer came from a Wisconsin government agency and pointed out the address in the state’s capital was for a mailbox at a UPS store.

“By posing as a state government service, Centurion defrauded thousands of legitimate businesses for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Randy Romanski argued.

The lawsuit lists several ways Centurion may have created a false impression that it was state government agency, as opposed to an out-of-state private business. The DOJ contends the mailers were sent soon after the business registered with DFI to create the impression that they were linked to the standard registration process.

Additionally, a “Please Respond By” stamp atop the page along with form identification codes and bar codes at the bottom would allegedly lead the recipient to the conclusion the forms were official in nature.

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