As we reported last year, Liberty Publishing was accused of selling advertisements on high school sports calendars without the schools' knowledge. Sales reps asked area businesses to buy advertisements on traditional poster-style sports calendars and told them the proceeds would support local high school teams. However, schools typically received only a small donation, about $25, from Liberty, and the company kept the rest of the money. When the high schools or their booster clubs approached local businesses for similar advertising, confused business owners would say they had already given to the school.

In response, Indiana State Attorney General Steve Carter sued the company for deceptive business practices, citing four separate cases of improper behavior. After failing to offer a defense, a default judgment was granted against Liberty, ordering it to pay $760 in restitution to two businesses that bought advertisements, plus $55,000 in penalties and $1,860 in court costs.

Liberty, which is based in Peoria, Ill., continues to operate freely in other states. "We are only allowed to pursue action in Indiana," says Sarah Rittman, Deputy Press Secretary for the Indiana Office of Attorney General, "but we are always willing to work with other states' attorney general's offices. We would like to get the word out there to local businesses everywhere to be careful who you are doing business with."

Since the beginning of 2007, there have been media reports of Liberty Publishing or Booster Club Productions soliciting advertising from businesses in Arkansas, California, Iowa, and Nebraska. Some schools have contacted local media outlets to let the community know that Liberty Publishing is not acting on the school's behalf.

For our previous coverage of Liberty Publishing, go to: www.AthleticManagement.com and type "calendar money" in the search window.