Compliance Scam Takes Small Businesses for More Than $1M

A corporate scam allegedly duping small business owners out of more than $1 million is the target of New York state prosecutors in a newly filed lawsuit.

The scam works like this, according to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman: Company owners receive a letter that's designed to look like an official state letter, timed to the deadline by which the businesses would normally submit their required bi-annual New York registration forms.

The letter looks real, titled "Notice of Annual Minutes Compliance," and includes the recipient business' incorporation date and New York Department of State identification number. The text of the letter tells owners that they must, under state law, pay for a "Certificate of Minutes", costing $120.