Maine Attorney General visits members of Age Friendly Raymond

By Lorraine Glowczak

The new Attorney General, Aaron Frey was invited to be the guest speak at the Age Friendly Raymond’s monthly meeting, Community Connections, on Monday, November 4 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Frey was unanimously selected on December 6, 2018 to succeed now governor and former Attorney General, Janet Mills.

The meeting was a relaxed presentation about the mission and job of the Attorney General’s office

Aaron Frey and Rep. Jess Fay

and the services it offers for the people of Maine. There were opportunities for questions and answers.

Rep. Jess Fay introduced Frey. “Aaron was born in Bangor and he lived there until third gradee where he and his family moved to Dixmont. He is a graduate of Nokomis High School in Newport, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, and he earned a Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island.”

Fay continued by explaining that Frey has been a member of the Maine House of Representatives, representing parts of Bangor and parts of Orono for three terms, and while there was a a member of the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. She also shared with the group that he has worked in a private legal practice in Bangor, focusing on matters involving criminal defense and family law. Frey also worked in Washington D.C. for the National Court Reporters Association prior to attending law school.

Frey began by stating that Maine is unique in that it is the only state where the Attorney General (AG) is elected by the legislature. “The good thing about this is the focus is not about who you are getting money from,” he explained. “The Maine AG is not a political office and as a result, there are long-term dedicated staff since political party does not play a role, and thus resignations are not expected during a transition from one Attorney General to another.”

Frey explained that the job of the AG’s office includes a wide range of different activities. “We represent the State of Maine in both the State and Federal Courts,” He said.

The work of the office includes child protective efforts, criminal prosecution, child support enforcement and legal services for the elderly to name just a few. Frey also spoke about free consumer mediation services as it relates to “lemon laws” and scam victims.

He shared ways to avoid frauds, listing a few of the following:

1)     Talk to someone you know and trust before giving you money or personal information to someone over the phone.

2)     Be skeptical about free trail offers.

3)     Don’t deposit a check and wire money.

4)     If you didn’t initiate the call (i.e. from the bank, etc.) then you should be suspicious.

5)     Hang up on robo calls. If there is a recorded sales pitch, hang up immediately and report it to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1

Frey addressed the concern and highlighted the fact there are many construction and roofing contractors who are not required to be certified or insured, so he warned all present to do research and get references prior to hiring for home repairs.

For this or any other frauds or scams, Frey stated that one could also reach out to the AG’s office by calling 1-800-436-2131 or online at consumer.mediation@maine.gov.

“Please call us,” Frey reiterated. “If we can’t help you, then we will help you find the individual who or organization that can.” He reminded that everyone is susceptible to falling for scams and that age, profession or education level play no role in prevention. Everyone must be vigilant.”