West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office filed a lawsuit Monday accusing a Jackson County meat wholesaler of coercing elderly customers into buying his products.
Steve A. Thaxton, who owns Thaxton Wholesale Meats LLC., is alleged to have violated the state's Consumer Protection Act, according to the complaint filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit comes nearly a year after a Kanawha judge ordered Thaxton to turn over documents requested by Morrisey's office, which began investigating Thaxton and his business after receiving complaints about deceptive business practices.
The company "coerced elderly and vulnerable West Virginians into purchasing meat they could not afford and in quantities they could not possibly consume," a news release from Morrisey's office about the lawsuit states.
In November 2015, Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman ordered the company to comply with an investigative subpoena. Lawyers for Thaxton had argued that the state office was exceeding its authority.
Thousands of door-to-door sales of meat were made without providing customers a contract and notice of their right to cancel within three days, the lawsuit claims.
Thaxton previously told the Gazette-Mail that if any fraudulent activity took place, it wouldn't be his fault but that of the people he contracts with who actually go door-to-door selling meat.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Googel told Kaufman, though, that at least two people who filed complaints against Thaxton's company had been investigated by Adult Protective Services and found to have been exploited by the company.
"West Virginia's elderly and vulnerable residents deserve the utmost respect - not coercion and exploitation," Morrisey said in the release. "Our investigative subpoena, as enforced by the court, revealed substantial evidence making for what we believe to be a very strong case against the defendant and his company."
According to the lawsuit, an 83-year-old woman from Walton, in Roane County, purchased more than $12,000 in meat from Thaxton between Dec. 2013 and Oct. 2014.
Another former customer of Thaxton's company posted no trespassing signs at his home and gave his credit card with a trustworthy neighbor to prevent further purchases, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit states that other alleged victims of the company have been identified in Lewis, Upshur and Pocahontas counties. It asks a judge to order Thaxton to return all of the money he allegedly obtained as a result of the company's unlawful actions and provide refunds to those the lawsuit claims are victims.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.