Attorney General's News Release

September 1, 2004

Judge orders man who sold deer hunts on Internet to repay hunters $15,000 and never advertise online again

Jefferson City, Mo. — A man who lured a dozen hunters to a fictitious tract of land in Clinton County has been ordered to repay them $15,000 and never again advertise or sell goods over the Internet. Attorney General Jay Nixon sued Mark A. Henry, an Olathe, Kan., resident who formerly lived in Cameron, in December 2003 for violating Missouri's consumer protection laws.

Henry advertised on the Internet that hunters could buy private hunts on a tract of land he said his family owned in Clinton County. A dozen hunters responded to the ad and sent Henry money, including some Texans who paid him $2,500 each. When the hunters arrived in Clinton County, they learned they had been taken. The tract of land Henry had advertised does not exist.

"Con artists are finding that online shoppers are easy targets. The law protects cyber-shoppers, too, and we're hunting down the con artists and keeping them off the Internet," Nixon says.

Henry agreed to the terms of a judgment negotiated by Nixon, then Clinton County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Griffin signed a permanent injunction against him on Aug. 23. In addition to barring Henry from selling on the Internet, the court order permanently bars him from:

• Trading goods or services online.
• Permitting any other person to use his computer, screen name or Internet account to advertise or sell goods or services.
• Using or borrowing any other person's computer, screen name or Internet account to advertise or sell over the Internet.

Henry also was ordered to pay $2,500 to the Missouri Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund to reimburse the state for the cost of the investigation and litigation.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818