DCCA NEWS RELEASE: State Warns of Deceptive “Certificate of Standing” Solicitations

 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS

KA ʻOIHANA PILI KĀLEPA

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR | KE KIAʻĀINA

 

NADINE Y. ANDO

DIRECTOR | KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

TY Y. NOHARA

SECURITIES COMMISSIONER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 2023

State Warns of Deceptive “Certificate of Standing” Solicitations

HONOLULU — The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Business Registration Division (BREG) warns of deceptive solicitations being sent out to registered Hawaiʻi businesses with instructions on how to receive their “official Certificate of Status” from “GA BUSINESS COMPLIANCE.”

The solicitation, “CERTIFICATE OF STATUS INSTRUCTION FORM” and similar solicitations are designed to look and sound official, with references to pre-printed business information, document number, due date, and more. In reality, a “Certificate of Standing” is not an official document issued to businesses by the State of Hawaiʻi.

“It is extremely frustrating that our local business owners are being targeted with these solicitations that contain misleading information,” said Securities Commissioner Ty Nohara. “We want to remind everyone that BREG does not solicit for any of its documents, nor does it utilize or endorse the services of any third-party entity to do so.”

In addition to the solicitor being an unregistered entity, red flags contained in the solicitation include, but are not limited to:

• The direction of users to a “.org” website that is not functional.
• References to the “Hawaii Secretary of State”
  • Hawaiʻi businesses are registered with BREG, an entity led by the Commissioner of Securities.
• A “Hawaii Certificate of Status”
  • This document does not exist with BREG.
  • BREG issues “Certificates of Good Standing” to certify that a business is properly registered with the state and has complied with statutory filing requirements.
• Request for payment that is exponentially higher than statutory amounts.
  • The fee for a Certificate of Good Standing issued by BREG is $5.00.

Businesses are encouraged to monitor their business information on BREG’s online portal at https://hbe.ehawaii.gov/documents/search.html and contact BREG directly at (808) 586-2727 [email protected] with any questions.

                                                      

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Attachment: Scanned solicitation form (redacted) sent out in 2023.

Media Contact:

William Nhieu

Communications Officer

Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Email: [email protected]

Office: (808) 586-7582