The Kansas Attorney General is suing a New Jersey company for allegedly scamming more than 300 schools in the state.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a civil suit in Shawnee County District Court against Robert Armstrong who runs Scholastic School Supply out of Franklinville, N.J.
The scam, according to the lawsuit, was simple and worked liked this: The company would send an invoice to a school for text books that the school never ordered.
The hope was that the dollar amount was so small that the school would just pay the bill and not check to see if books were actually ordered.
Schmidt, in a news release, said he’s seeking $634,000 in civil penalties.
“Falsely billing Kansas public school districts is an attempt to defraud Kansas taxpayers and a serious violation of the law,” said Schmidt in a statement.
This scam first came to light last September when the Better Business Bureau uncovered it in several states.
According to the BBB each invoice sent was for the same amount, $647.50.
Armstrong has also been charged with mail fraud by the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey.
He’s accused of sending the fake invoices to 70,000 schools.
