State News Update

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap Issues Important Consumer Alert, Corporate Records Service Scam
The Secretary of State’s office has received calls regarding the legitimacy of solicitations that are being mailed to numerous Maine corporations from a company named Corporate Records Service. These solicitations urge corporations to file information and send payment in the amount of $125.00 by a certain date in order to complete corporate meeting minutes on behalf of the corporation.

These solicitations also include statute citations regarding corporate records and annual meetings. At first glance, this solicitation may look official; however, some of the information being requested is not required to be filed with the Secretary of State. Maine corporations are not required to file corporate minutes with the Secretary of State’s office.

Annual Reports are required to be filed with the Secretary of State’s office on or before June 1st of each year. Secretary Dunlap encourages all entities on record with the Secretary of State’s office to review “Filing Requirement Reminders” available on the web at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/corp/helpful.html.

Additionally, please keep in mind that any official notice received from the Secretary of State’s office will contain the Maine state seal, the Secretary of State’s name, and contact information for the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions.

Please contact the Division of Corporations at (207) 624-7752 should you have any questions or concerns regarding these solicitations.

Attorney General Mills Warns Maine Medicare Recipients of Scam
Attorney General Janet T. Mills is warning consumers about recent reports of calls from individuals claiming to represent Medicare.

There are reports from Maine Medicare recipients who have received phone calls claiming to be from Medicare. The callers claim Medicare is issuing a new Medicare card and asks for the consumer’s Medicare number, the name of their financial institution and their financial routing and account numbers.

Medicare consumers who provide this information are advised to review their Medicare statements carefully for the next year and contact 1-800-MEDICARE immediately if anything questionable appears on their statements. Consumers should also notify their financial institution if their account information has been compromised.

If you think you have experienced a Medicare scam, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (207) 626-8849.