California’s attorney general has filed suit to shut down two related businesses that allegedly billed tens of thousands of homeowners nearly $200 each by claiming they had helped them reduce their property tax assessments.
The lawsuit, which seeks $2.5 million in civil penalties, alleges businesses owned by Sean and Michael McConville targeted homeowners with mailers that read like government billing statements, demanding payment for reassessments and reassessment appeal services.
The Southern California-based businesses, "Property Tax Reassessment" and "Property Tax Adjustment Services," did not make it clear to consumers that they were not government entities, that the solicitations were not a bill, and that the services they offered but "almost never performed" were available free of charge from county assessors, the attorney general said.
The companies continue to solicit California homeowners and recently sent out mailers with "due dates" of May 26, 2009, the attorney general warned.
Sean McConville has been indicted in Ventura County on 20 felony counts for criminal conduct stemming from his property tax reassessment operations, the attorney general said.
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