Consumer Judgments Handed Down Against Milwaukee Woman in Plumbing Fraud

Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager announced that her office has obtained consumer protection judgments against Drusilla Anna Jones, also known as Drusilla Anna Jones Chaneyalew, and two business organizations created by Ms. Jones, Metropolitan Paralegal Associates Inc., and Office of Procurement Monitoring & Performance Compliance LLC.

The judgments complete a lawsuit brought by Lautenschlager which charged the defendants with mailing a fraudulent solicitation entitled “Plumbing Contractor or Salesperson License Application Survey Form.”

“The form appeared to come from a governmental entity, demanded payment of a $150.00 fee, and required recipients to fill in blanks regarding contractor information,” Lautenschlager said. “The form requested information such as the contractor’s name and company name, but also requested sensitive information, such as the owner’s social security number, insurance policy number, bond number, and sales tax seller’s permit number.”

Racine County Circuit Judge Faye Flancher found that by mailing this form to 264 Milwaukee-area plumbers, the defendants violated Wisconsin’s consumer protection law which prohibits fraudulent representations.

The court ordered that all three defendants be enjoined from future violations of the Wisconsin consumer protection law. Specifically, the defendants are prohibited from sending solicitations to Wisconsin consumers or businesses that appear to come from governmental entities, that appear to be license renewal forms, and/or that state that they are surveys.

The defendants were also ordered to pay penalties and forfeitures and the state’s cost of investigation and litigation, totaling $34,617.00 for the two businesses and $40,336.80 for Drusilla Jones.