Fake subscriptions net restitution order

A Joplin man who sold magazines door to door last year but never delivered them has been ordered to pay more than $4,600 in restitution to consumers and the state.

Jason E. Cogbill has been permanently barred from selling magazines or engaging in door-to-door sales in Missouri, according to an order issued yesterday by Boone County Circuit Judge Gene Hamilton.

In December, Attorney General Jay Nixon filed suit against Cogbill and Kameron Johnson, owners of Creek House Subscriptions, after receiving more than 60 complaints from consumers in several Missouri counties, including Boone, Callaway and Cole counties.

The men posed as students from the University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University while soliciting subscriptions and collected $4,863 from subscribers who never received their magazines. In addition to repaying consumers, Cogbill has been ordered to pay a $1,000 civil penalty and $1,000 to cover the costs of investigation and pursing the case.

Consumers who purchased magazine subscriptions from Creek House can file complaints through the attorney general’s Web site, www.ago.mo.gov, or by calling the consumer protection hot line at (800) 392-8222.