DENVER — A Denver judge has ordered a company to stop doing business and has frozen the assets of an organization because it poses a “danger of real, immediate and irreparable injury,” according to the preliminary injunction.
The Colorado Attorney General’s office is pursuing charges against PropDoks for selling fake documents under the facade of selling movie props.
“The creation of fraudulent documents to be presented to the courts or passed off as the courts’ own orders subverts the authority of the judicial system and is an assault on the rule of law,” Conor Kruger, assistant attorney general, wrote in the complaint obtained by 9NEWS.
The judge wrote that freezing the bank accounts of Visual Prop Studios, LLC, PropDoks, and owner Erdis Moore was necessary because of evidence of “fraudulent and deceptive practices perpetrated in and outside Colorado.”
A cached archive of the website showed buyers could get a host of documents ranging from certificates verifying the holder completed domestic violence or anger management classes to positive COVID-19 tests.
“100'S MORE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE, JUST ASK AND WE CAN CREATE IT,” the website advertised. “WE MAKE PROOF OF ALMOST ANYTHING!!!”
Kruger wrote that the fake documents can be “devastating” and may be used by car thieves to pass off illegitimate ownership of a stolen car. PropDoks has “filled tens of thousands of orders” in two years according to the complaint.
A 2022 version of the website archived on the WayBack Machine showed PropDoks could help customers “qualify U for Public Assistance” or help wipe a felony from their record.
A disclaimer on the website insisted that the documents were for “theatrical” or “educational” uses and that buyers “SHALL ASSUME ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY ATTEMPT OR INTENT TO FRAUD OR ANY MIS-USE.”
9NEWS legal analyst, Scott Robinson, said a disclaimer doesn't matter.
"If you’re creating documents that could be used illegally, you can put in all the disclaimer language you want – it's not going to protect you either for civil liability or criminal prosecution," Robinson said. "Creating a document that purports to have a judges signature, for example, is forgery."
An undercover investigator for the attorney general’s office bought false documents on three occasions from PropDoks, according to the complaint. She got a fake child custody order complete with a magistrate’s signature, tax forms, temporary license plate and insurance forms.
“The false protection order contains no disclaimer that it is false or a prop meant for theatrical purposes,” Kruger wrote.
Erdis Moore is listed as the registered agent for Visual Prop Studios. We tried several ways to contact the company and owner today but couldn't reach him. A call and text to the number listed on the archived PropDoks website was not returned.
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