Attorney General announces settlement with an Idaho Falls magazine publisher

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced a settlement agreement Friday with Gary and Sharon Mueller, owners of Idaho Life, LLC.

The Idaho Falls-based company, which published lifestyle magazines, sold advertising space to small businesses in 2016 and 2017.

The settlement requires the Muellers to pay more than $8,400 in refunds to small businesses that did not receive the ads they purchased.

“This settlement accomplishes two important goals,” Wasden said. “It addresses concerns my office had with the Muellers’ business practices, and it provides for payment of restitution to injured consumers.”

Between May 2017 and March 2018, the Office of the Attorney General received complaints from five small businesses about the Muellers and Idaho Life. The businesses reported that they paid the Muellers for advertising in Idaho Life magazines, but the magazines were never published. When the businesses asked for refunds, they received no responses from the Muellers.

The Attorney General communicated with the Muellers about the complaints and learned the Muellers stopped publishing due to health and financial issues. In early August, the Muellers agreed to resolve the Attorney General’s concerns through a settlement.

In addition to requiring the Muellers to pay restitution, the settlement prohibits them from selling advertisements to Idaho consumers. The Muellers will also pay $1,000 to cover the state’s fees and investigative costs.

**Note: Idaho Life, LLC has no relationship to Idaho Falls Magazine.