The Mississippi Attorney General’s office and the Better Business Bureau are warning people of a potential scam involving the Black Farmers & Agriculturalist Association.
Led by Ted Burell, the Memphis-based Black Farmers & Agriculturalist Association group is traveling around the state encouraging black farmers to join the organization for a $100 fee. The group will be in West Point today.
Burell is reportedly telling farmers that if they join the organization, they could be eligible for a pay-out from a recently settled $1.2 billion class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In an interview with WTOK in Meridian, Burell said it was not too late for farmers to become part of the lawsuit.
“The statute of limitation that Congress passed is still open,” he said. “That is the most important thing to remember. The Appropriations Act of 1998, in effect, waived the statute of limitation. Now, that waiver is still in motion. The lawsuits themselves may be closed, but the statute of limitation, which is perhaps the most powerful piece of legislation that made this lawsuit available in the first place, it was signed, and therefore we’re arguing that as long as the waiver is still in motion the courts could open up and either allow folks to get into the last lawsuit or create another one.”
Jim Hood, the state attorney general, and the BBB, disagree with Burell. And according to the Black Farmers Agriculturalist’s own website, the deadline to file a claim has passed and no more settlement checks will be issued.
The AG and the BBB each issued statements Wednesday afternoon warning people to be wary of any attempts to collect money in exchange for a payout.
The BBB states in its release that it has received calls throughout the week inquiring about the Black Farmers & Agriculturalist Association and its solicitation of members for $100. The BBB said the federal lawsuit only covered black farmers that farmed between 1981 and 1996 and who tried to secure government loans during that period.
“The suit has already been settled and the deadline to file expired on May 11, 2012,” the BBB said.
The Black Farmers & Agriculturalist Association — which currently has an “F” rating with the Memphis-arm of the BBB — has already held meetings in Meridian and Hattiesburg.
Hood issued a similar release Wednesday.
“It has been brought to our attention that there are individuals/organizations who are holding meetings statewide and charging a fee to help black farmers file claims and participate in lawsuits when, in fact, the deadline to do so has long since passed,” Hood said in the statement. “We are looking into these allegations and what we can do about them, but feel the need to warn consumers to be wary.”
John O’Hara, the CEO of the BBB in Mississippi, echoed Hood’s sentiments in an interview with The Dispatch, saying, “In any organization, people should be aware of what they’re paying for. When it comes to a class-action suit, there are no guarantees. When people join an organization it doesn’t guarantee they will be eligible for a class-action settlement.”
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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