Be on the lookout for a scam being perpetrated on some of our corporate and limited liability company clients. A company which calls itself “Business Filings Division -California” is sending out an official-looking notice warning corporations and limited liability companies that they may be penalized and suspended unless they immediately pay $239 to file the required Statement of Information. You can view a sample of this form HERE.
Most of you are familiar with the annual Statement of Information form which is mailed out by the California Secretary of State to keep it up-to-date on your company’s address and the identity of its officers, directors, or members. That form is normally filled out by our clients themselves and mailed to the Secretary of State along with a $20 or $25 filing fee. The form can also be filed online at the Secretary of State’s Website.
This is deceptive advertising despite the disclaimer in the last paragraph of the notice which states “this offer is not being made by an agency of the government.”
I repeat, the filing fee is $20 for LLC’s and $25 for corporations if you file this yourself! Similar scams are being run with respect to keeping your annual minutes up-to- date. Unless you see our letterhead, you should ignore these notices, too. Although I doubt there is a problem, you can check on the status of your company by giving us a call and we will check your status for you and get you back in compliance if there is a problem.
