News
Joint effort saves taxpayers more than $1 million and protects consumers from fraud
By Secretary of the State's Office
Jul 16, 2008 - 12:50:24 PM

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal held a news conference on Wednesday July 16th in the Secretary of the State’s Office to announce the results of an investigation of out-of-state companies doing business illegally in Connecticut. Bysiewicz and Blumenthal were also joined by Howard Schwartz, the Communications Director of the Connecticut Better Business Bureau, representing businesses, especially contractors, affected by the illegal practices.

The joint effort between the Secretary of the State and the Attorney General recovered $1,035,873.60 in fiscal year 2008 in fines from 310 out-of-state companies that failed to register with the state before doing business in Connecticut.

“In these tough economic times, it’s important for businesses in Connecticut to have a level playing field,” said Bysiewicz, the state’s chief business registrar. “Any company that does business in our state must abide by the law, file the proper papers with my office, and list a qualified agent. This ensures accountability for consumers and we will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to pursue and seek restitution from those who violate the law.”

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said, “These fines are a powerful preemptive strike against consumer fraud. We have vigorously recovered more than a million dollars from companies illegally operating in Connecticut, unregistered and under the radar. When companies fail to register, it impedes my office from easily identifying and holding accountable businesses that harm Connecticut citizens. Only the most irresponsible companies will subvert simple requirements to register. We will continue our cooperative crackdown to protect consumers, as well as lawfully registered businesses.”

Under state law, corporations, limited liability partnerships, non-stock corporations, stock corporations, and statutory trusts doing business in Connecticut are required to register with the Secretary of the State’s Office and pay the statutorily established fee before they can transact business here. There are approximately 47,416 of these foreign entities which have filed with the Secretary of the State’s Office.

The requirement to obtain authority to do business exists to protect domestic organizations from unfair competition and place domestic and foreign organizations on an equal footing. The law also protects consumers with a grievance against an out-of-state business, by specifying where and what manner the company can be served with legal papers.

Secretary Bysiewicz and Attorney General Blumenthal launched their enforcement efforts last year, aggressively pursuing hundreds of delinquent out-of-state businesses and threatening legal action. Fines and penalties collected from each business range from $165 to more than $20,000. The average fine for the 2008 fiscal year was $3,341.53, which represented a 22% increase from FY 2007. The three largest settlements came from:

1. Florists' Transworld Delivery (FTD) $22,380 IL

2. Kemira Chemicals Inc. $17,805 GA

3. T & M Equipment Corporation $16.912.50 IN

Bysiewicz and Blumenthal said the enforcement effort will continue to ensure that out-of-state businesses are held accountable.

“Through this investigation the Attorney General and I were able to find and publicize the names of companies who were operating illegally in Connecticut,” said Bysiewicz, “this practice is unfair to the thousands of businesses in our state who play by the rules and leaves consumers vulnerable to fraud with little recourse. It simply won’t be tolerated.”

Paulette Hotton, President of the Connecticut Better Business Bureau, said, “This investigation is helpful for both Connecticut consumers and businesses. Connecticut contractors are forced to compete with unlicensed companies that cross state borders, and often undercut local businesses by performing sub-standard work.”

Hotton continued, “This initiative by the Secretary of the State and the Attorney General helps consumers because in many cases, if work is done improperly, they have to spend more money to have shoddy projects inspected, repaired or re-done, and often have no recourse to recover their money from an out-of state contractor.”

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