Want to get into quick trouble over a misleading advertisement? Just imply that Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers endorses your product.

A Roseburg woman drew the ire of the state’s top law enforcement officer, along with House Minority Leader Bruce Hanna, when she implied that the two men endorsed a credit-monitoring service she was promoting.

A flier distributed throughout the Roseburg area this week touting the service said that Myers and Hanna recommend identity theft protection. The handbill quotes Jan Margosian, a spokeswoman from the Oregon Department of Justice saying that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the world.
The quote was taken from a Jan. 11 News-Review story reporting on an identity theft forum presented in Sutherlin by Myers and Hanna. The flier shows the story as printed in the paper, along with an Associated Press story warning people to keep an eye on their outgoing mail.

On Thursday, Myers’ office sent out a cease-and-desist letter to Pre-Paid Legal Services of Ada, Okla., the company that offers the identify theft protection advertised by the Roseburg woman, who is described as an “independent associate” of the company.

The woman, Laisha Kneuven, was also sent a copy, said Caren Rovics, a senior assistant attorney general with the state’s Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection Section.

In the letter, Rovics wrote that the inclusion of the statement about Myers and Hanna make it seem that the pair “appear to implicitly or explicitly suggest that the named elected officials approve, sponsor or endorse the Identity Theft Shield Program. They do not.”

Hanna said he learned about the scheme after someone called him to ask whether he endorsed the monitoring program mentioned.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” Hanna said. “Neither me nor the attorney general
has endorsed any kind of identity theft product.”

Likewise, The News-Review did not give permission to have its stories reprinted on the advertisement.

“We do not endorse this product and we did not know anything about this until we were supplied with a copy of the flier,” Publisher Mark Raymond said.

The Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act prohibits causing the likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding in the sponsorship or approval of goods or services.
Violations of the act, enforced by Myers’ office, carry a fine of up to $25,000.

“You must immediately cease using the name of any elected official in Oregon, including Representative Hanna or Attorney General Hardy Myers, in connection with marketing or advertising any goods or services without express written permission from the elected official,” Rovics wrote.

If the company fails to stop “this deceptive marketing practice,” the Department of Justice plans to initiate formal legal action, Rovics wrote.

The flier, which also sought sales associates, advertised a seminar to be held tonight in Roseburg. A call to the number listed on the handbill went to voice mail. Kneuven did not immediately return the call this morning.

• You can reach reporter JohnSowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.