Immigration Center Order
Immigration Center Order
Plaintiff,
v.
The Court, having reviewed the entire record in this matter, the pleadings, motions,
including Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment and the supporting affidavits, and being
fully advised in the premises,
FINDS and CONCLUDES that default judgment should be entered for Plaintiff the
State of Colorado ex rel. John W. Suthers, Attorney General,against Defendants Immigration
Center a/k/a U.S. Immigration Center, Immigrationhelpline.org and U.S. Government
Helpline, a Colorado Non-Profit Corporation (“Immigration Center”), and Alfred Boyce,
individually, and d/b/a Immigration Forms & Documents for the following reasons:
1. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction in the matter presented herein by virtue of
§ 6-1-110(1), C.R.S. (2009). The Court has personal jurisdiction over Immigration Center
and Boyce, who were served process in this matter pursuant to C.R.C.P. Rule 4(e).
3. Pursuant to Rule 121 § 1-14, Defendants Immigration Center and Boyce are not
minors, incapacitated persons, officers or agencies of the state, nor in the military.
5. On August 17, 2009, Defendants did not appear for the Preliminary Injunction
hearing and this Court advised Doucette via his son, who appeared in place of his father,
that Doucette cannot represent Immigration Center and further advised that legal
representation would need to be retained by the corporation. This matter was continued
until September 2, 2009. This Court entered a Preliminary Injunction Against Defendant
Deborah Stilson on August 18, 2009. On September 2, 2009 Doucette entered his Answer
orally at the Preliminary Injunction hearing, and was accepted by this Court. To date,
neither Immigration Center nor Boyce have filed an answer or otherwise responded to
Plaintiff’s Complaint.
6. On September 9, 2009 Plaintiff filed Notice of Default, requesting the clerk of the
Court to enter default against Defendant Immigration Center. On Plaintiff’s Motion this Court
entered a Preliminary Injunction Against Immigration Center, Charles Doucette, Alfred
Boyce And All Named Trade Names on September 15, 2009. On November 17, 2009 Plaintiff
filed a Motion for Entry of Default Against Defendants Deborah Stilson, Alfred Boyce and
Immigration Center. Plaintiff and Defendants Doucette and Stilson filed a Joint Motion for
Entry of Consent Judgment and Vacating Trial Date on April 13, 2010.
7. Plaintiff is in compliance with C.R.C.P Rule 55, having provided notice of its
application for default judgment to Defendants on May 6, 2010.
A. Permanent Injunction
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(1) Whenever the attorney general or a district attorney has
cause to believe that a person has engaged in or is engaging in
any deceptive trade practice listed in section 6-1-105 or part 7 of
this article, the attorney general or district attorney may apply
for and obtain, in an action in the appropriate district court of
this state, a temporary restraining order or injunction, or both,
pursuant to the Colorado rules of civil procedure, prohibiting
such person from continuing such practices, or engaging therein,
or doing any act in furtherance thereof. The court may make
such orders or judgments as may be necessary to prevent the use
or employment by such person of any such deceptive trade
practice or which may be necessary to completely compensate or
restore to the original position of any person injured by means of
any such practice or to prevent any unjust enrichment by any
person through the use or employment of any deceptive trade
practice.
§ 6-1-110(1), C.R.S.
via the USCIS’ website but which Defendants sell to consumers for hundreds of
dollars. Defendants in fact advise consumers against going to the USCIS web site to
download the forms.
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e. Defendants have paid their sales staff on a commission basis, encouraging staff
to mislead and purposely fail to disclose the necessary USCIS’ filing fees and that the
forms are otherwise free on USCIS’ website.
10. Plaintiff has shown and satisfied the necessary factors to obtain a permanent
injunction: success on the merits; a danger of real, immediate, and irreparable injury which
may be prevented by injunctive relief; lack of a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy at law; no
disservice to the public interest; and balance of equities in favor of the injunction. City of
Golden v. Simpson, 83 P.3d 87, 96 (Colo. 2004), citing, Rathke v. MacFarlane, 648 P.2d 648,
653-54 (Colo.1982); See, Baseline Farms Two, LLP v. Hennings, 26 P.3d 1209, 1212 (Colo.
App. 2001), citing, Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Co. v. State Department of Air Pollution, 191 Colo.
463, 553 P.2d 200 (1976) (supporting the proposition that when the Colorado Attorney
General seeks an injunction to enforce state laws affecting the public interest, the Attorney
General is not required to plead or prove immediate or irreparable injury).
11. Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law and the remedy of a permanent injunction is
appropriate in the circumstances of this case.
12. This Court further finds Defendants Immigration Center and Boyce will suffer no
undue hardship by the entry of a permanent injunction since Defendants have no right to
continue to engage in unlawful and deceptive trade practices in the State of Colorado or to
collect money from consumers as a result of such unlawful and deceptive conduct in violation
of the CCPA. Further, Defendants have no right to unjustly benefit from such deceptive trade
practices. Without an injunction, Plaintiff will be unable to adequately protect the public from
Defendants’ unlawful activities.
13. Thus, this Court Orders that Defendants Immigration Center and Boyce,
individually, and any other person under their control or at their direction, including but not
limited to any principals, officers, directors, agents, employees, representatives,
successors, affiliates, subsidiaries, contractors, and assigns who receives actual notice of
the Order, are PERMANENTLY ENJOINED from the following activities in Colorado or
that affect Colorado consumers:
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B. Restitution and Civil Penalties
14. The CCPA’s broad legislative purpose is to “provide prompt, economical, and
readily available remedies against consumer fraud,” Western Food Plan, Inc. v. District
Court in and for the City and County of Denver, 598 P.2d 1038, 1041 (Colo. 1979).
Accordingly, the CCPA provides that this Court may make such judgments as may be
necessary to “completely compensate or restore to the original position of any person
injured by means” of a deceptive trade practice. § 6-1-110(1), C.R.S.
15. This Court finds that the Affidavit by investigator Rebecca Wild, submitted on
May 6, 2010, adequately establishes the amount of restitution for which judgment should
be entered. Investigator Wild reviewed records produced by FedEx that shows from
1/19/2009 to 07/14/2009 Defendants fraudulently collected, via COD, approximately $1.5
million dollars from 4,610 consumers across the United States.
6-1-112 Civil penalties. (1) Any person who violates or causes another to violate
any provision of this article shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of this state a
civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars for each such violation. For
purposes of this subsection (1), a violation of any provision shall constitute a
separate violation with respect to each consumer or transaction involved; except
that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars for
any related series of violations.
17. In determining the amount of a civil penalty award, this Court considers the
following concepts: (a) The good or bad faith of the defendant; (b) the injury to the
public; (c) the defendant’s ability to pay; and (d) the desire to eliminate the benefits
derived by violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. State v. May Dept.
Stores Co., 849 P.2d 802 (Colo. App. 1992).
18. Based on the record, the Court finds that before and after July 1, 2009,
Defendants’ violations of the CCPA were deliberate, knowing and done in bad faith.
Defendants Boyce and Immigration Center conceived of and implemented policies of
deception, which demonstrate that their violations of the CCPA were deliberate, knowing,
and in bad faith. Defendants copied and manipulated government warnings against
fraudulent immigration services in such a way as to suggest government affiliation and
legitimacy. Defendants wrongly misled consumers to believe their USCIS filing fees are
subsumed into the fees charged by Defendants by duplicating the filing fees charged by
UCSIC. Defendants wrongly misled consumers to believe that they are certified and
subject to background checks for legitimacy. Defendants fraudulently attached the official
seal of the USCIS to correspondence with consumers. Defendant Boyce’s signature is at
the bottom of letters with the fraudulent government seal sent to consumers with the
immigration forms. Furthermore, Defendant Boyce may be operating a similar or the
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same business in Reno, Nevada, even after receiving notice of Plaintiff’s action and this
Court’s Preliminary Injunction restricting such deceptive trade practices.
19. The Court finds that, based upon the affidavit of Investigator Wild submitted with
Plaintiff’s Motion for Default, Defendants collected fees from more than 4,000 consumers
nationwide.
20. The Attorney General is entitled to costs and attorney fees pursuant to Colo. Rev.
Stat. § 6-1-113(4), but has elected not to pursue costs and attorney’s fees in this matter.
21. This Court orders $1,000,000 in civil penalties against Defendants based on a
penalty of $500,000 per violation per consumer, based upon a continuing pattern of
deliberate and knowing violations. This Court further Orders that Defendants pay $1.5
million in consumer restitution and disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains. Therefore the
total order of damages against Defendants Immigration Center and Boyce is $2.5 million.
22. Defendants Boyce and Immigration Center shall be jointly and severally liable for
the damages set forth herein.
23. Pursuant to section 6-1-110(1), C.R.S., this Court orders that all restrictions
imposed by the TRO and Preliminary Injunction on bank accounts into which Defendants
transferred wrongly obtained consumer funds, including but not limited to known
accounts at TCF Bank, Wells Fargo, Academy Bank and Bank of America, and that any
and all funds in those accounts be used solely to meet Defendant Immigration Center and
Boyce’s obligations for monetary judgment as set forth herein.
24. This Court therefore ENTERS such final judgment against Defendants Immigration
Center a/k/a U.S. Immigration Center, Immigrationhelpline.org and U.S. Government
Helpline, a Colorado Non-Profit Corporation, and Alfred Boyce, individually, and doing
business as Immigration Forms & Documents.
BY THE COURT:
_________________________________
District Judge