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COURTS Alleged subscription scammers may be violating state restraining order Attorney general says the White City company shouldn't still be mailing solicitations Comment By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 10, 2015 at 12:58 PM Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 5:18 PM By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 10, 2015 at 12:58 PM Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 5:18 PM » RELATED CONTENT • White City subscription sellers settle with AG for $3 million... » Social News MEDFORD — Oregon's attorney general Friday told the Mail Tribune that defendants in a Department of Justice lawsuit over an alleged magazine and newspaper subscription fraud scheme may be in violation of a state restraining order. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said recent subscription solicitations sent by White City-based Publishers Payment Processing are most likely violations of  the order, which prevents the company and others named in the lawsuit from processing subscription orders while the case is pending. The lawsuit names 19 companies and nine individuals who are accused of misrepresenting their authority to sell subscriptions on behalf of third-party publications and falsely claimed to offer the lowest subscription prices available.  Among those named in the suit is Jeffrey Hoyal, a Jacksonville-area vineyard owner who has allegedly used several companies he owned to control the bulk of the subscription-sales business through numerous company names. Attempts made Friday to reach Portland lawyer Corey Tolliver, who represents all of the defendants, were unsuccessful. A Mail Tribune employee earlier this week received a subscription renewal notice, stamped with the company's White City post office box, for New York Magazine, to which the employee does not subscribe. Other Jackson County residents have reported receiving similar subscription solicitations from the defendants' businesses after the state's lawsuit was filed March 31. "They're probably, and I say probably, in violation of the restraining order," Rosenblum said.  The order, filed the same day as the state's complaint in Marion County Circuit Court, freezes defendants' access to numerous bank accounts and has placed their businesses' electronic records in the temporary receivership of a computer forensic expert. It also bars defendants from processing any subscription payments while the case is being resolved. Rosenblum said she could see how the defendants might have tried to find a narrow loophole in the letter of the restraining order to continue their business operations in the meantime. "The language of the order could be interpreted to say you can solicit but not process," she explained. The DOJ's complaint alleges businesses involved in the scam committed  wire fraud, mail fraud, first-degree aggravated theft by deception and money laundering, and seeks $25,000 for each violation of the state's Unlawful Trade Practices Act and for each instance of financial abuse of a vulnerable person. Prosecutors are also seeking numerous other civil penalties on behalf of the state and a prohibition against the defendants continuing their business enterprise in Oregon.  Rosenblum said state investigators had been looking into the alleged fraud scheme for several years before the DOJ filed suit simultaneously with the attorneys general of New York, Minnesota, Missouri and Texas. DOJ Communications Director Kristina Edmunson said the number of complaints generated by the solicitations in recent months are second only to those from a recent telephone scam by callers purporting to work for the IRS. "(The damages) are at least $20 million, if not double that," Rosenblum said. Many of those victimized were older individuals, she said, highlighting the need for stricter prosecution of crimes against the elderly.  "They're gullible," she said. Rosenblum recently asked the Legislature for funding for a full-time prosecutor and two investigators dedicated to elder crimes, to target what she described as a statewide "epidemic." While some relatively large law enforcement agencies like the Medford Police Department have financial investigators with specialized knowledge of crimes against the elderly, most don't, she said. "This really came down to, 'Hey, how can we be the most help?' " she said. Rosenblum said while it's possible the state may bring criminal charges in the subscription case at a later date, the current suit, filed under the state's consumer protection law, allows prosecutors to pursue damages solely on preponderance of evidence. "We don't necessarily want to have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," she said, referring to the burden of proof in criminal prosecutions. Rosenblum and Edmunson said the state is looking for former employees and people associated with the businesses to come forward, as they may be potential witnesses.  Reach reporter Thomas Moriarty at 541-776-4471 or [email protected] . Follow him at @ThomasDMoriarty . By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 10, 2015 at 12:58 PM Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 5:18 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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