Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

Former South Bend City Official Sentenced in Theft Case

OLYMPIA -- A former City of South Bend official was sentenced to 16 months in prison in Pacific County Superior Court today for stealing more than $153,000 in city funds. Colleen K. Mason pleaded guilty in November to five counts of first degree theft and one count of second degree theft.

In court today, Judge Mark F. McCauley also ordered Mason to pay $153,379.36 in restitution to the City of South Bend, $110 in court costs and a $500 crime victims' compensation assessment.

WASHINGTON AND CANADIAN AG'S CLOSE DOWN LOTTERY TELEMARKETING OPERATIONS

SEATTLE - The Washington State Attorney General's Office and the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General today joined forces to seize assets and close down a Vancouver, BC telemarketer. The cooperative effort is part of crackdown by law enforcement agencies in both nations to stop cross-border telemarketing fraud.

"Cross-border telemarketing fraud has become a serious problem," Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire explained. "We estimate telemarketing fraud victims, many of them our vulnerable elderly citizens, lose $40 billion a year."

State Settles With Florida-based Telemarketer

Seattle – Washington and more than 40 other states have settled a case against a Florida-based telemarketing firm accused of unfair and deceptive practices, Attorney General Christine Gregoire announced today.

As a result of this settlement and a similar one reached between the company and the Federal Trade Commission, more than 6,000 Washington residents could be eligible for restitution.

Consumer Alert: Telemarketing Do Not Call Registry Available Now

SEATTLE - Washington consumers who do not wish to receive telemarketing calls can now join the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry, according to Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

"We are pleased that federal agencies are providing this public service, and Congress has provided sufficient funding to make it work," Gregoire said. "This may not be the end of unwanted telemarketing calls, but consumers will finally have some control over the volume of telephone solicitations they receive at home."

AG's Office Takes Action Against Woodinville Magazine Telemarketer

SEATTLE - Attorney General Christine Gregoire today announced that consumers who paid for magazine subscriptions they never received will finally get what they ordered, or their money back.

Publishers Services, a Woodinville telemarketing company owned by Daniel William and Stacy Base, repeatedly collected money for magazine subscriptions it failed to deliver or had no authority to sell.