A judge ordered a Jackson County meat wholesaler on Friday to turn over documents sought in an ongoing investigation by state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office.
Morrisey's office began investigating Thaxton Wholesale Meats LLC, after receiving complaints that elderly customers had been coerced into buying products.
In July, a subpoena was issued to the company's owner, Steve Thaxton, for documents to further the investigation. When Thaxton didn't hand over the documents, attorneys in Morrisey's office filed a motion in Kanawha Circuit Court asking that a judge enforce the subpoena.
Thaxton, after the hearing on Friday, accused Morrisey's office of exceeding its authority. He added that if any fraudulent activity has taken place, it wouldn't be his fault but that of the people he contracts with who actually go door to door selling meat.
"This is just the Attorney General trying to overreach on the small business man. It's tough enough trying to make it as it is," said Thaxton, who opened the company two years ago. "Anybody can file a complaint with the Attorney General over any little thing."
However, Norman Googel, senior assistant attorney general of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division of Morrisey's office, told Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman on Friday that the cases of at least two people who filed complaints against the meat company were investigated by Adult Protective Services.
"Adult protective services found that these elderly people had been exploited," Googel said.
Last month, when the motion to enforce the subpoena was filed, Morrisey issued a press release stating that a number of complaints had also been filed against Thaxton's company with the Better Business Bureau.
"The Attorney General's Office has a responsibility to take consumer complaints seriously and to investigate companies accused of operating dishonestly," Morrisey said in the release.
Googel asked the judge to require Thaxton to turn over, among other things, copies of drivers licenses of everyone he has ever employed, all documents pertaining to the commencement of the business, any written contracts memorializing meat sales and information about credit card chargebacks.
When a customer has a dispute over a credit card charge and complains to their bank, a bank can freeze the charge and launch an investigation. If it's determined that a customer has been wronged, a bank can remove the charge, resulting in a chargeback, Googel explained.
Obtaining that information from Thaxton will easily identify a number of people who had complaints, according to Googel.
But Thaxton's attorney, Tony Shepherd, argued that information could be taken out of context.
"We're talking about perishable products, we're not talking about Girl Scout cookies. Girl Scout cookies are not going bad in a week, the meat is," said Shepherd. "The timeliness of the complaint on the chargeback is very relevant. ... If a week later, the meat is not properly kept in the freezer, that should not be a part of the investigation - especially when people are given a three-day [right to cancel]."
Thaxton's customers weren't being given a three-day right to cancel, as the Federal Trade Commission requires for door-to-door sales, Googel interjected.
Thaxton voluntarily agreed to hand over some of the documents requested by Morrisey's office.
"We have nothing to hide," Shepherd said Friday.
Before granting the Attorney General's request, Kaufman told Thaxton he's mindful of the burden investigations can create for small businesses. But the judge also pointed out some of the information the investigation has revealed.
"There's a $12,000 charge to a lady that's 83," the judge said.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.