Month: September 2024

Files lawsuit against William Shocinski, Jr. and multiple businesses he has owned for thousands of violations of Minnesota’s consumer protection laws

September 4, 2024 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Minnesota resident William Shocinski, Jr. and businesses he has owned, Meraki Metal Art LLC, VO Metal Center MN LLC, VO Metal Art LLC, and VO Metal Art MN LLC (Shocinski Metals, collectively), for failing to deliver nearly $900,000 worth of products that consumers purchased. Attorney General Ellison alleges in the lawsuit that Shocinski and his businesses violated Minnesota consumer protection laws by failing to deliver products people ordered and paid for and made false, deceptive, and misleading statements about products offered for sale through their websites.

The lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County, accuses Shocinski and his companies of taking money from consumers nationwide, but failing to deliver more than half of the orders placed. Between August 2021 and December 2023, consumers ordered 28,793 products from Shocinski Metals. Shocinski Metals failed to deliver 12,484, or 43.3%, of those products, collecting $878,769.08 for products it did not deliver. In addition, Shocinski Metals sent damaged product, misspelled customized metal décor, or products that were not what the customer ordered on numerous occasions. Shocinski reported earning over $44,000 per month from his various businesses.

Attorney General Ellison further alleges that Shocinski and his businesses refused to provide refunds to consumers as a general practice, even for products they never delivered or products that were damaged, misspelled, or incorrect. Shocinski Metals advertised a refund policy that requires consumers to return a fictitious and non-existent form that Shocinski admitted he had never even seen. Shocinski admitted under oath that, instead of providing refunds, it was his practice for Shocinski Metals simply not to contest consumers’ fraud reports to their credit card companies, which would, in turn, refund the consumers.

The Attorney General also alleges that Shocinski and his companies repeatedly advertised non-existent affiliations with youth charities. Shocinski’s websites claimed that, “All Orders Help Support Our Local Youth Charity” and those websites included the following graphic claiming that a portion of each purchase goes to support Today’s Harbor for Children:

In reality, Minnesota-based Shocinski Metals has never supported Today’s Harbor for Children, a charity located in Texas that has never done work outside of Texas. In addition, Shocinski appears to have lifted the majority of his website from that of a Texas-based competitor, leading to a number of other miscellaneous misrepresentations, including about where the goods were manufactured.

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison alleges a number of other violations, including making untrue statements about delivery times before Christmas, leading consumers to believe that they would receive products in time for gifting to loved ones, when the businesses were either unwilling or incapable of providing those goods.

“It’s simple: when you order a product from a legitimate business online, you should receive that product,” Attorney General Ellison said. “If the business cannot fill that order, you should get your money back. Shocinski did not do that. Instead, he took people’s money, failed to send them anything, and ignored refund requests. That’s not business, it’s fraud. And his lying about supporting a charity for kids is just plain reprehensible. The number and sheer audacity of Shocinski’s scams and falsehoods are truly shocking, and I’m going to put a stop to them.”

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison asks the court to stop Shocinski and his companies from continuing to sell products, to impose civil penalties, and to fully restitute consumers whose money was taken without receiving a product.

Attorney General Ellison encourages Minnesotans to submit complaints about online retailers failing to deliver products you have ordered by filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office via its online complaint form. Consumers can also call the Office at (651) 296-3353 (metro area) or (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota).

August 30, 2024 (SAINT PAUL) – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today announced that he has reached a settlement with professional fundraiser Ride to The Chip, LLC (“RTTC”) and its founders and members Tyrone Creer and Alice Arenson. In an Assurance of Discontinuance, Attorney General Ellison alleges that RTTC improperly withheld a portion of the funds that it raised for its charitable partner, the Magnus Veterans Foundation (“MVF”).  The Assurance also alleges that RTTC misleadingly claimed that 100% of the funds raised would go to charity when a portion of the funds went toward their profit, and that the organization failed to give donors legally required disclosures about, among other things, its for-profit status. The Assurance further alleges that RTTC failed to register as a professional fundraiser and file reports with the Office.

The Assurance bans RTTC and its founders from all future professional fundraising activities and requires RTTC and its founders to pay back MVF the money they owe the charity. The Assurance further requires the signers to pay $75,000 if they violate any part of the Assurance in the future.

“It is unacceptable for a fundraiser hired by a charity to keep money they specifically raised for that charity,” Attorney General Ellison said. “And we further won’t allow groups to falsely claim every penny of donations will go to charity when some of the money lines their own pockets. People who fundraise for charities need to register with our Office and follow the rules intended to make sure these dollars go to help the public and that donors are properly informed.”

Creer and Arenson founded RTTC in 2022, after which it organized a motorcycle ride from the Twin Cities to the Buffalo Chip Campground in South Dakota to fundraise for MVF. In 2023, the Attorney General’s Office received a complaint regarding concerns that a donation did not go MVF, as intended. The Charities Division launched an investigation under Minnesota’s civil charitable solicitation and charitable trust laws, which require those who hold charitable assets to adhere to strict registration requirements and fiduciary duties. In Minnesota, the Attorney General through the Charities Division has civil, not criminal, enforcement authority over the state’s charitable solicitation and charitable trust laws.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office makes available a number of publications and pamphlets about charitable organizations, charitable trusts, professional fundraisers, and nonprofit organizations generally:

• “A Guide to Minnesota’s Charities Laws” discusses key laws including the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act, the Charitable Solicitation Act, and the Supervision of Charitable Trusts and Trustees Act, among other laws that require certain organizations to register with and provide notice to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
• “Guide for Board Members” covers fiduciary duties of directors of nonprofit corporations and is meant to assist board members with the important responsibilities they assume when elected to a charity’s board of directors.
• “Nonprofit Organization Resources” contains a listing of resources covering charitable solicitation, professional fundraiser, and charitable trust registration, government agency contacts, and training and technical assistance providers.

Minnesotans with concerns about governance or other issues at a nonprofit may submit a complaint on the Attorney General’s website. Minnesota consumers may also contact the Attorney General’s Office by calling (651) 296-3353 (Metro area), (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota), or (800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay).