Files lawsuit against William Shocinski, Jr. and multiple businesses he has owned for thousands of violations of Minnesota’s consumer protection laws
September 4, 2024 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Minnesota resident William Shocinski, Jr. and businesses he has owned, Meraki Metal Art LLC, VO Metal Center MN LLC, VO Metal Art LLC, and VO Metal Art MN LLC (Shocinski Metals, collectively), for failing to deliver nearly $900,000 worth of products that consumers purchased. Attorney General Ellison alleges in the lawsuit that Shocinski and his businesses violated Minnesota consumer protection laws by failing to deliver products people ordered and paid for and made false, deceptive, and misleading statements about products offered for sale through their websites.
The lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County, accuses Shocinski and his companies of taking money from consumers nationwide, but failing to deliver more than half of the orders placed. Between August 2021 and December 2023, consumers ordered 28,793 products from Shocinski Metals. Shocinski Metals failed to deliver 12,484, or 43.3%, of those products, collecting $878,769.08 for products it did not deliver. In addition, Shocinski Metals sent damaged product, misspelled customized metal décor, or products that were not what the customer ordered on numerous occasions. Shocinski reported earning over $44,000 per month from his various businesses.
Attorney General Ellison further alleges that Shocinski and his businesses refused to provide refunds to consumers as a general practice, even for products they never delivered or products that were damaged, misspelled, or incorrect. Shocinski Metals advertised a refund policy that requires consumers to return a fictitious and non-existent form that Shocinski admitted he had never even seen. Shocinski admitted under oath that, instead of providing refunds, it was his practice for Shocinski Metals simply not to contest consumers’ fraud reports to their credit card companies, which would, in turn, refund the consumers.
The Attorney General also alleges that Shocinski and his companies repeatedly advertised non-existent affiliations with youth charities. Shocinski’s websites claimed that, “All Orders Help Support Our Local Youth Charity” and those websites included the following graphic claiming that a portion of each purchase goes to support Today’s Harbor for Children:
In reality, Minnesota-based Shocinski Metals has never supported Today’s Harbor for Children, a charity located in Texas that has never done work outside of Texas. In addition, Shocinski appears to have lifted the majority of his website from that of a Texas-based competitor, leading to a number of other miscellaneous misrepresentations, including about where the goods were manufactured.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison alleges a number of other violations, including making untrue statements about delivery times before Christmas, leading consumers to believe that they would receive products in time for gifting to loved ones, when the businesses were either unwilling or incapable of providing those goods.
“It’s simple: when you order a product from a legitimate business online, you should receive that product,” Attorney General Ellison said. “If the business cannot fill that order, you should get your money back. Shocinski did not do that. Instead, he took people’s money, failed to send them anything, and ignored refund requests. That’s not business, it’s fraud. And his lying about supporting a charity for kids is just plain reprehensible. The number and sheer audacity of Shocinski’s scams and falsehoods are truly shocking, and I’m going to put a stop to them.”
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison asks the court to stop Shocinski and his companies from continuing to sell products, to impose civil penalties, and to fully restitute consumers whose money was taken without receiving a product.
Attorney General Ellison encourages Minnesotans to submit complaints about online retailers failing to deliver products you have ordered by filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office via its online complaint form. Consumers can also call the Office at (651) 296-3353 (metro area) or (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota).