(Cheyenne, WY) – Governor Gordon has recognized the efforts of the Consumer Protection Division of the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office after a joint settlement returned more than $500,000 to the State to support consumer protection enforcement.
In April, Governor Gordon signed Senate File 124, critical antitrust legislation that strengthens the Consumer Protection Division’s ability to investigate and seek relief from anti-competitive conduct that harms Wyoming businesses and consumers.
Since 2016, the Consumer Protection Unit has obtained judgments and settlements awarding over $17 million to the State and consumers, while also obtaining injunctions to protect Wyoming residents from future scams.
“This division has continued their efforts to return dollars to Wyoming consumers and residents,” Governor Gordon said. “The new legislation will also help us to defend our citizens who have been caught in the crossfire of multinational corporations.”
The joint settlement by the Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is the result of an enforcement action filed to halt a ring of companies and individuals from sending direct mail solicitations that mimic invoices for payment or subscription renewal notices from actual magazine publishers and that misrepresent the savings associated with the subscriptions.
The companies used deceptive mailers that sold overpriced magazine subscriptions designed to look like renewal notices for consumers’ legitimate existing subscriptions. The Wyoming and Colorado Attorney General’s Offices, as well as the Better Business Bureau, received hundreds of complaints—largely from consumers over the age of 60—about these deceptive mailers.
Descriptions of recent cases by the Consumer Protection Unit, including this settlement, can be found on their website: http://ag.wyo.gov/cpu/resolved-matters.