Registered Agents Inc. (RAI) is an American registered agent firm founded in 2008. The company provides business formation services to set up limited liability companies and corporations and acts as a point of contact for legal notices. The company is headquartered in Wyoming where approximately 120,000 companies are associated with its address.[1][2]
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dan Keen |
| Headquarters | , United States[1] |
| Services | Registered agent |
| Subsidiaries | Epik |
| Website | www |
RAI is known for obscuring ownership of the businesses it forms by listing its address and, in some reported instances, the use of fictitious personas as the agent of record on clients' business formation documents.[3][2][1]
In 2024, the company received media coverage after acquiring Epik, a domain registrar and web hosting company known for providing domain registration services to the alt-right.[3][4][2]
History
editIn 2008, Dan Keen founded RAI after running a tree trimming and landscaping business.[2] Initially focusing on company incorporation in the Pacific Northwest,[5] Dan Keen grew RAI into a registered agent incorporating companies throughout the United States.[2] According to Wired, RAI is a "one-stop shop for people seeking to incorporate a business in any US state, often in those with advantageous tax policies, while obscuring their identities."[2] RAI uses fictitious personas to mask the identities of its employees and to sign their customers' incorporation documents, according to Wired.[2][1] In Wyoming alone, RAI serves as the registered agent for over 50,000 companies.[6]
In 2020, RAI threatened to sue a Wyoming newspaper, The Sheridan Press, after it reported RAI to be the registered agent of companies with no presence in Wyoming that had received CARES Act money during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][7] In 2022, a joint investigation by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists found that RAI served as the registered agent to companies alleged to launder COVID-19 funds.[7] The same year, KELO-TV reported that RAI served as the registered agent for a company operating illegal robocalls targeted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[8] In 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that a company incorporated with RAI was used in cyberattacks against media organizations in several countries.[9] The same year, Reuters reported that RAI served as the registered agent for Russian and Somali cybercrime groups.[10]
In January 2024, RAI was reported to serve as the registered agent for a vital records intermediary company later shut down by the Wyoming authorities for misrepresentation.[11] The same year, an RAI-registered company was linked to an organization providing dark money to political campaigns, and another was linked to an election disinformation operation involving a proposed library bond.[12][13] In May 2024, investigative journalist Leah Sottile found that RAI had formed and maintains a shell company in Wyoming called TwinRay Ventures for secretive religious group, TwinRay, that is based in southern Oregon.[14] The same month, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray dissolved three companies registered by RAI that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found to be linked to fraud directed by North Korea's Ministry of Defence.[15][16][17]
Subsidiaries
editIn June 2023, RAI acquired Epik, a domain name registrar and web hosting service catering to far-right and neo-Nazi websites that have been denied service by other internet service providers.[3][18][19][4]
RAI also owns a software development company called Two Barrels LLC and a company that helps manage multiple corporation filings called Corporate Tools LLC.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Wolfson, Leo (July 31, 2024). "Are Wyoming's Secretive LLC Laws Making State A "Haven For Scammers?"". Cowboy State Daily. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Turton, William; Mehrotra, Dhruv (March 5, 2024). "The Secrets Factory". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2024-03-09. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
The company routinely incorporates thousands of businesses on behalf of its customers using fake personas. Former Registered Agents Inc. employees say that the company's widespread use of personas is an outgrowth of its founder's obsession with privacy and a desire to push the boundaries of incorporation laws.
- ^ a b c Turton, William (February 8, 2024). "The Far Right's Favorite Web Host Has a Shadowy New Owner". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Collins, Benedict (February 9, 2024). "The world's most controversial domain registrar has a new owner — and apparently it is "forging a new path"". TechRadar. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Czaban, Kristen (November 25, 2020). "Commercial registered agents bring business with unintended consequences". The Sheridan Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ Snoozy, Ashleigh (July 17, 2023). "Another scam recorded from business related to 30 N. Gould St. registered agent". The Sheridan Press. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ a b Will, Fitzgibbon; Cenziper, Debbie; Crites, Alice (April 5, 2022). "The gatekeepers who help open America to oligarchs and scammers". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
Until last month, the company listed "Bill Havre" as board president and executive director...ICIJ and The Post searched public records in Wyoming and across the United States, including voter registration and property records, and found no one listed by that name.
- ^ Soulek, Lauren (July 11, 2022). "Some scam robocalls may stem from a SD company". KELO-TV. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Rozen, Jonathan (2023-09-19). "'Network abuse': Attacks on 3 media sites involved services of US, UK firms". Committee to Protect Journalists. Archived from the original on 2024-07-28. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Satter, Raphael (December 12, 2023). "How cybercriminals are using Wyoming shell companies for global hacks". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ McFarland, Clair (January 19, 2024). "Official Wyoming Record-Keeper Warns Of Shady Online Sites Hoarding Personal Data". Cowboy State Daily. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ Racker, Mini; Sollenberger, Roger (May 16, 2024). "This Mysterious New GOP Dark Money Group Raises All Kinds of Red Flags". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ Hussein, Tayeba (March 10, 2024). "Dirty tricks in Maitland library campaign? Hit mailer flouts political laws". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 17, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ Sottile, Leah (May 7, 2024). "The TwinRay mystery: A spiritual group in Ashland raises eyebrows and worries". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ Turton, William (June 5, 2024). "A US Company Enabled a North Korean Scam That Raised Money for WMDs". Wired. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ Wolfson, Leo (May 21, 2024). "Chuck Gray Strips North Korean Businesses Of Wyoming Licenses After Flagged By FBI". Cowboy State Daily. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Gookin, Marit (May 22, 2024). "North Korean businesses registered under false information dissolved". Gillette News Record. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Allemann, Andrew (3 June 2023). "Epik is sold". Domain Name Wire. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ Allemann, Andrew (February 5, 2024). "Registered Agents Inc. indeed acquired Epik". Domain Name Wire. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.