Warning about RI agency lookalike

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Many small businesses in Rhode Island are the target of what authorities said is a deceptive marketing gimmick.

A letter, which is from Rhode Island Corporate Compliance, asks for $125 and information about the company, its stockholders, and its directors. The letter also outlines penalties for non-compliance in reporting this information to the Secretary of State’s office.

David Chaffee, the owner of Chaffee Communications, says that he too thought the letter looked official until he read the fine print.

He said, “First impression was I thought it was from the Secretary of State asking for information about our annual meeting and minutes and so on, it looked fairly official. ”

Then Chaffee noticed the fine print, “We have not been approved or endorsed by any government agency.”

The Secretary of State’s office told Eyewitness News that a business can download a form for free on it’s website to provide the required information and there is no need to pay an outside company to do it.