The Illinois Attorney General's office announced a lawsuit yesterday against a Tulsa, OK, insurance agency it accused of making misrepresentations in its direct mail campaigns.
G.K. & Associates Inc. sent mail pieces to consumers in Illinois that falsely claimed a relationship with their mortgage lenders, the state attorney general's office said. The mailers claimed that the consumers' lenders were urging them to buy mortgage insurance, the attorney general charged.
The mailer envelopes bear no return address, but the name of the consumer's mortgage lender appears in capital letters above the consumer's name and address, the attorney general's office said. Mortgage Lenders Unit, the business name under which G.K. & Associates operated, appears only on the reply envelope, according to the attorney general.
The lawsuit seeks a $50,000 civil penalty plus $50,000 per violation with intent to defraud. Gary and Barbara Kroll, president and vice president of G.K. & Associates, were ordered to cease the practice by the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate in 2001, the attorney general's office said.
