*Alert reposted from the Rhode Island Bar Association.

An alert from the Rhode Island Bar Association warned all Rhode Island Business Corporations that any Corporate Compliance Filing Solicitation you may have received was NOT from the RI Secretary of State. The solicitation, which came in the form of direct mail from “Rhode Island Corporate Compliance (RICC)”, was a scam.

Although the official- looking letter cites a state law that requires corporations to keep records of accounts, minutes and the name and addresses of all shareholders and directs recipients to submit an “Annual Disclosure Statement” along with a “Document Fee” of $125, this mailing was NOT sent out by the RI Secretary of State. State law does not require Rhode Island companies to file those records with the Secretary of State’s office or any state agency.

This mailing was timed with the filing of annual reports for for-profit corporations, please do not be misled. For-profit corporations must still file their annual reports with RI Secretary of State, failure to do so could result in fine and the revocation of a corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Authority in Rhode Island.

If you have questions about the direct mail solicitation please contact the RI Secretary of State office at (401) 222-3040 or email corporations@sos.ri.gov

Forms that meet the minimum statutory requirements and instructions for filing can be found at the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s website: http://sos.ri.gov/business/