Colorado AG Files Consumer Fraud Suit Against So-Called "Legal Aid" Firm

In Denver, Colorado, the state Attorney General's Office announced last month:

• Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers [...] announced that his office filed a consumer fraud lawsuit on January 29, 2008, against Legal Aid National Services, Inc., commonly known as The LANS Corp. Also named in the lawsuit are LANS founder and president Kendrick E. White [...], White’s wife Jasmine Ewing [...], and White’s half-brother Derrich E. Brown [...], both of whom assisted with the company. [...] Although the defendants claimed that trained professionals would provide legal services, the complaint alleges that consumers were charged for legal advice by staff with little or no legal training.

Among the Colorado AG's allegations:

• [T]he defendants purposely used business names that incorporated terms such as “legal aid” in order to confuse consumers looking for free or low-cost legal services. According to the complaint, consumers who called directory assistance and requested “legal aid” were frequently provided the phone number for LANS. Throughout the country, the defendants purchased local phone numbers so that consumers believed they were dealing with a local entity when, in fact, their call was routed to the defendants’ Colorado offices. The complaint alleges that LANS’ sales representatives were trained to answer the phones with the words “legal aid” to further confuse consumers.

For more, see Attorney General Suthers Files Consumer Protection Suit Against Legal Aid Company.

Go here for Ripoff Report on Legal Aid National Services.