New Yorkers who paid for books they thought were free may be eligible for refunds under a settlement with Frank W. Cawood & Associates, a Georgia publisher whose mail offers targeted older adults. Attorney General Letitia James announced the agreement Oct. 28.

The company, known as FC&A Publishing, must permanently stop its book-preview program in New York and pay the state a $23,500 penalty. That penalty is separate from the money it must return to eligible customers.

For seniors and caregivers in Utica and the Mohawk Valley, the next step is to check whether a paid FC&A book arrived through a trial offer. The attorney general’s office says consumers who believe they qualify should contact the company before April 23, 2027.

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration, not actual books, invoices or evidence from this case. Credit: Utica Phoenix / OpenAI.

What the state found

The signed settlement describes mailers that emphasized a free preview while putting payment terms in much smaller type. A separate free booklet accompanied the offer, adding to confusion about which item customers could keep without paying, investigators found.

An initial invoice could turn a $36 hardcover into a $49.68 bill after shipping and taxes. People who did not pay or cancel received repeated bills with overdue warnings and late fees. The state found that some customers or their caregivers paid even though they did not understand the offer or remember ordering a book.

The agreement resolves a civil investigation. FC&A neither admits nor denies the attorney general’s findings. It says the company represented that its customer service staff consistently resolved complaints in consumers’ favor, but investigators found records of confused customers who still paid.

Who can receive a refund

The agreement covers eligible FC&A products ordered within the past six years and originally sent to a New York address on a preview or trial basis. It provides three paths to refunds for eligible consumers:

• They previously requested a refund but did not receive the full amount.
• They told the company they did not understand or remember the trial, or did not intend to order a product, but paid anyway.
• They request a refund during the six-month claim period.

The company must review its customer-service logs, payment records and refund records to identify eligible customers. People making a new request do not have to show that they complained to FC&A before the settlement.

Refunds must equal the full amount paid for an eligible product, including shipping charges and any late fees. The agreement does not announce a fixed total refund fund or an equal payment for every customer.

How to contact FC&A

FC&A’s customer-service page lists 1-800-226-8024 and customerservice@fca.com. Its mailing address is FC&A Customer Service, 103 Clover Green, Peachtree City, GA 30269. The page also has an online contact form.

When making an inquiry, explain that it concerns the New York attorney general’s FC&A settlement. Keep copies of the request and any available invoices, payment records or earlier refund correspondence. Those records can help identify the purchase and the amount paid.

Consumers can also contact the attorney general’s office through its consumer complaint page or call 1-800-771-7755. Under the settlement, the office will forward eligibility inquiries received during the six-month period to FC&A, which must treat them as direct inquiries.

When payments are due

The settlement took effect Oct. 23, 2026. It requires FC&A to mail paper refund checks no later than 30 days after the six-month period for consumers to come forward ends. That timetable is not a promise that a check will arrive immediately after a request.

FC&A must use address-update records to help reach eligible consumers. It must also give the attorney general’s office a compliance report listing refund recipients and amounts within a year of the agreement’s effective date.

The announcement does not identify how many customers in Utica or the Mohawk Valley were affected. Eligibility is based on the purchase and New York delivery address, not on whether a customer lives in a named city.