Corporate Compliance Recorder- Beware of Fraud!
January 23, 2009 by Lisa
Filed under Business Law
A client of mine received a letter from the “Corporation Compliance Recorder” with a return address in Los Angeles, CA. The envelope included a very official looking seal that if not given a second look, could be misinterpreted as a government seal. The envelope contained an “Annual Compliance Notification” quoting sections of the California Business Code and its requirement that a California corporation must keep annual minutes. The company also threw in some scary language about “personal liability for corporate negligence”. They then requested remittance of the included fillout form and a fee of $125 ($175 if filed after the “due” date).
Now the unwary and busy entrepreneur would just fill it in and send in a check to ensure “compliance”. But my client’s smarter than that, he consulted me.
While it is true that in order to maintain your corporate charter, you will need to keep certain company records, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY A FEE TO ANY “COMPLIANCE RECORDER” TO HAVE THIS DONE. Your books and minutes can be kept by the corporation and do not have to be filed anywhere except maybe in your desk.
So when in doubt, read the fine print (they will usually have a disclaimer stating that they are soliciting business and this is not endorsed by any government agency). Make sure the agency on the return address label is a legitimate government agency. Or just ask your trusted attorney advisor.
Very good articles and I am also interested in that, please give some more details.
3/23/2010 Just received a scam letter from “Recording Compliance Board” for those who have recently purchased or refinanced their house, advising of future title problems if one does not have a “Deed of Reconveyance”. They will provide this for $145. Letter and envelopes look reasonably official. To be sent to a PO Box in Los Angeles.
I received this BS letter from “Recording Compliance Board” yesterday (5-8-10).I hold these kind of sub-human life forms in toal contemp since the majority of their victims are the elderly who can least afford this kind of
underhanded flim-flam. I made a few copies and sent them off with a “Nice” cover letter to the Los Angeles DA”s office, and the Ca Dept Of Consumer Affairs to name a few. Let’s see what happens (If anything!).
Signed….
Pissed Off!
Official looking letter from Recording Compliance Board, Title Reconveyance Dept. arrived today. Wanted me to send $145 to them PO Box 480501, LA CA 90048. Annoyed that these
scammers seem to avoid legal consequence.
My mother-in-law received that Recording Compliance Board, Title Reconveyance Dept. letter yesterday too. It was alarming because it is carefully worded to scare the pants off of you and the even more scary fact is that we called our mortgage company GMAC to find out if there was a lien on a Deed of Trust my mother-in-law holds on the refinanced loan with GMAC which was not removed from the old GMAC mortgage before refinancing. No one knew anything at GMAC and had us fax the pages to two parts of GMAC the Lien Department, etc for a tune of $8.00 faxing fee. What is most scary is not the bogus letter but that Mortgage Companies don’t know what is going on.
I too received a letter, if not two, from Recording Compliance Board. Every other line was laden with ominous consequences if I did not send them $145.00. I suppose that they have been advised by an attorney who thinks and works at the same scatological level they do, that the one sentence beginning “if you do not already have. . . ,” is all they need to protect themselves from prosecution. Otherwise, why haven’t they been stopped?
David E. Jones
A brief look at search results for “Recording Compliance Board” shows that this scam is alive and well from Ventura to Riverside. Why not try the
U.S. Postmaster General
U.S. Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20260-0010
David Jones, Sylmar