The New Jersey Department of Treasury is warning New Jersey corporations of a recent wave of fraudulent compliance solicitations that have been circulated to businesses across the State. The “2013 Annual Corporate Records Form” scam involves a request for information regarding corporate officers, shareholders, or annual reports, as well as a payment of $125 by a due date later this month in exchange for the generation of a disclosure form. These deceptive solicitations are particularly dangerous because they look official and appear to be coming from the State of New Jersey, or contain details about the entity, officers and directors and warnings about penalties and fines that could lead the recipient to believe they are official. In reality, the State of New Jersey does not require any such “Annual Corporate Records Form.”
Any New Jersey business that receives a message where fraud is suspected is strongly encouraged to check with the New Jersey Department of Treasury’s Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services before responding to the message. A link to their website and the alert can be found here and the Division’s Hotline is 609-292-9292.