TOPEKA – (February 4, 2019) – A Topeka man pleaded guilty last week to one felony count of violating a consumer protection order, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
In February 2016, a civil consent judgment entered under authority of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act was approved in Shawnee County District Court against Travis D. Kaiser, 48, of Topeka, d/b/a T’s Lawn Service. In that consent judgment, Kaiser was found liable for deceptive or unconscionable acts against Kansas consumers. He was enjoined by the court from engaging in any future door-to-door sales in the State of Kansas as defined by law. In December 2016, Kaiser was personally served with a notice of potential criminal liability if he engaged in further door-to-door sales.
On Friday, Kaiser pleaded guilty to violating that consumer protection order and engaging in a door-to-door sale on May 6, 2017.
This is the first conviction in a case brought by the Kansas Attorney General under a new law passed by the Kansas Legislature in 2016, creating the crime of violation of a consumer protection order. That law provides the attorney general authority to charge a person with a crime if that person has been prohibited by a court order from engaging in door-to-door sales, given proper notice, and nonetheless continues to conduct door-to-door sales.
District Judge Carl William Ossmann accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for April 8 at 11:30 a.m.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Steven Karrer of the attorney general’s Fraud and Abuse Litigation Division.
Kansas filed the charges after an investigation was conducted by the Office of the Attorney General and Topeka Police Department.
