ATLANTA — The Georgia Secretary of State's Office plans to issue a warning based on evidence obtained by Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland. It involves a suspicious mailing targeting local businesses.
"It looked so official, under normal circumstances I would have written a check out for $125," said business owner John Lehman.
Lehman's DataSport Inc. provides environmental information for anglers and bird watchers.
It's not a conglomerate, but a mailed solicitation offered help with his annual corporate paperwork.
"These guys were going to prepare corporate consent records, which I'm assuming is something that says we had a meeting today and we agreed with everything you said, goodbye,"Lehman said.
The fee may be $125, but the secretary of state says there's no real value.
"Do not pay that $125 fee, unless you want to. You are not required to do that," said Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Kemp says each year his office must warn busy small-business people not to be fooled by an official-looking form from an official-sounding place.
The Georgia Council for Corporations' local address is a box at the UPS Store on Courtland Avenue.
The toll-free number is answered in Lansing, Mich.
Strickland could not find a Georgia corporate filing for the Georgia Council for Corporations.
Kemp says small-business people like Lehman need only file their annual registration.
Strickland emailed the company a series of questions as requested but never heard back.