Clone LLC Scheme Targets Ferndale Businesses

Michigan authorities say a pair of men used cloned limited liability companies to target Ferndale businesses and pressure owners for money. (michigan.gov) Attorney General Dana Nessel said on July 9, 2025 that her office sued 17 limited liability companies, plus Eric Vander Ley and Daniel Vander Ley, in Wayne County Circuit Court over the alleged scheme. The complaint says the cloned entities copied or closely mimicked the names of existing Ferndale businesses. (michigan.gov) The state named businesses including Bags and Beads, Como’s Restaurant, Beau’s Grillery, Tin Can Cocktails, Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop and Urbanrest Brewing Company. In one example, the attorney general said Eric Vander Ley demanded $500 an hour from the bike shop owner in talks tied to a “fabricated settlement.” (michigan.gov) A limited liability company, or LLC, is the legal shell many small businesses use to sign leases, open bank accounts and limit owners’ personal liability. Michigan says every LLC must file an annual statement to stay in active status, and failure to file can lead to loss of good standing, dissolution or revocation. (michigan.gov) The attorney general’s complaint says the defendants exploited lapses in those state filings to create clone companies with the same or similar names as real Ferndale storefronts. The suit asks the court to dissolve the 17 LLCs under Michigan law on the grounds that they were procured by fraud. (michigan.gov) The case landed in a downtown district that the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority says spans 3.9 linear miles and includes more than 350 businesses. The authority says it helps existing businesses survive and grow, which puts the alleged cloning scheme squarely in the middle of the city’s small-business core. (downtownferndale.com) Michigan’s filing rules create a fixed deadline that can become a weak point if owners miss it. State guidance says LLC annual statements are due by February 15 each year, except for some newly formed companies after September 30. (michigan.gov) State regulators have also warned businesses about other filing-related scams. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs says it has identified fraudulent emails impersonating agency officials and says suspicious LARA-related fraud should be reported through official state channels. (michigan.gov) For Ferndale owners, the practical step is to check the state business record before reacting to a demand letter or a filing notice. Michigan’s business services pages direct owners to official state systems to look up a business, file annual reports and verify communications through Michigan.gov. (michigan.gov, michigan.gov)