Illinois AG sues charitable telemarketer, says misled public

CHICAGO (AP) - The Illinois attorney general is suing a Chicago-area professional fundraiser and for-profit telemarketer, alleging it misled the public.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the three-count complaint Thursday against Safety Publications Inc. of Elk Grove Village and its owners, Adam Herdman and Arthur Olivera. She says the company misled the public about who was soliciting them and how the money would be used. The complaint also accuses the company of not having proper registration, not accounting for fundraising activities and violating previous consent decrees with Madigan's office.

Madigan called the company "brazen con artists" who commit "serial fraud." The allegations come from the company's work for the Rockford-based veterans' charity VietNow National Headquarters.

Safety Publications officials didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment Thursday morning.