AgedCorporations.com’s enforcement tracker lists every public action, law and rule change the site has found that bears on the sale or use of a shelf corporation, newest first, each linked to its primary source. The record is short: one federal criminal case, one state attorney general agreement, and Wyoming measures on registered agents and the entities that use them. None of it treats owning an aged entity as unlawful; all of it concerns what was said or done around one.
How to read this tracker
Each entry gives the date, the authority that acted, the type of respondent, what was alleged or proposed, the outcome, and the source. Respondents are described by type rather than by name, with one exception: the Michigan entry names the respondent exactly as the public enforcement record does, because that record is itself the source.
The words matter. An allegation is what an authority claims; a finding is what a court decides; an agreement settles a matter without a decision. Agreements are described as agreements, and convictions in the words of the prosecutor’s release. Rule changes and failed bills are included because they change what buyers and sellers must do.
- : Reuters: more than 2,000 companies at one Cheyenne house Source
- : DOJ charges wire fraud conspiracy in shelf corporation scheme. U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Ohio. A criminal information is a charge, not evidence of guilt. Source
- : DOJ announces a 41-month prison sentence in the same case. The defendant was found guilty earlier in 2016 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud and was ordered to pay restitution. Source
- : Michigan AG agreement: seller to stop Michigan shelf sales. Assurance of Voluntary Compliance and Discontinuance filed in the 30th Judicial Circuit Court, Ingham County; it also requires removing website language promoting deceptive uses. Source
- : Wyoming SF0056 signed: false info to an agent is a dissolution ground Source
- : Wyoming SF0082 on agent duties dies in House committee Source
- : Wyoming SoS begins in-person registered agent audits Source
- : FinCEN final rule ends BOI reporting for US companies Source
The entries
August 14, 2026: FinCEN final rule ends beneficial ownership reporting for US companies
- Authority: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, U.S. Treasury.
- Respondent type: None. A rule change affecting all US-created entities.
- What changed: FinCEN announced on August 11, 2026 a final rule that “permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information,” and said it will delete previously reported information by U.S. persons.3
- Outcome: The rule was published and took effect on August 14, 2026. Foreign entities that are reporting companies still report their foreign beneficial owners.43
- Source: Federal Register document 2026-16576 and the FinCEN release. The full history is on the Corporate Transparency Act page.
March 18, 2026: Wyoming Secretary of State begins in-person registered agent audits
- Authority: Wyoming Secretary of State.
- Respondent type: Large commercial registered agents in Sheridan.
- What was done: Representatives of the office conducted several targeted, in-person audits of commercial registered agents, marking the beginning of an audit review process to ensure compliance with existing Wyoming law governing those agents.1
- Outcome: Ongoing. The Secretary said the office “takes fraud and abuse of corporate filings extremely seriously” and that he was disappointed the Legislature chose not to pursue multiple anti-fraud bills.1 The release announced no finding against any agent.
- Source: Wyoming Secretary of State release of March 19, 2026.
March 3, 2026: Wyoming SF0082 on registered agent duties dies in House committee
- Authority: Wyoming Legislature.
- Respondent type: None. The bill would have applied to registered agents.
- What was proposed: SF0082 would have required a registered agent to keep the names and addresses of each domestic entity’s owners, unless the entity had more than 100 owners or kept a fixed, physical principal place of business in Wyoming, among other exceptions.2
- Outcome: The Senate passed it 23 to 8 on February 18, 2026. It was referred to the House Corporations committee, which made no report before the committee of the whole cutoff, and it died in committee on March 3, 2026.2
- Source: Wyoming Legislature bill page for 2026 SF0082.
February 28, 2025: Wyoming SF0056 signed
- Authority: Wyoming Legislature and Governor.
- Respondent type: None. A statute applying to Wyoming entities.
- What changed: A new ground for administrative dissolution, revocation or forfeiture: “it is in the public interest” and the entity “has provided false or fraudulent information to the registered agent,” as determined by the Secretary of State during or after an examination of records or following notification by the agent.5
- Outcome: The governor signed it on February 28, 2025, and it took effect the same day.6
- Source: Enrolled Act No. 49 and the bill status page for 2025 SF0056.
July 2, 2024: Michigan Attorney General Assurance of Voluntary Compliance
- Authority: Michigan Attorney General, filed in the 30th Judicial Circuit Court, Ingham County, No. 24-230-CP.8
- Respondent type: A Wyoming seller of aged shelf companies, named in the filing as Wyoming Corporate Services, Inc.8
- What was alleged: As alleged in a Notice of Intended Action, a review of the respondent’s website indicated that it marketed shelf companies as a means to deceive consumers and gain favorable consideration in bids and equipment leasing.7 The inquiry followed an investigation of a Michigan company whose owners had bought a shelf company from the respondent.7
- Outcome: The respondent agreed to the terms to avoid potential litigation over alleged violations of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.7 It must stop creating and selling Michigan aged shelf companies, dissolve the Michigan entities it held for sale, and remove website language promoting illegal or deceptive uses.8 The agreement states that it does not constitute an admission of any wrongdoing, and Michigan law provides that such an assurance “shall not constitute an admission of guilt.”89 No adjudicated finding was made.
- Source: The Attorney General’s release and the filed assurance.
November 17, 2016: Sentence in the Northern District of Ohio aged shelf corporation case
- Authority: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio.
- Respondent type: An individual seller of aged shelf corporations, acting through two companies.
- What was charged: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud.11
- Outcome: The office announced that the defendant “was found guilty earlier this year” of those offenses, and that a U.S. District Judge sentenced him to 41 months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution.11
- Source: U.S. Attorney’s release of November 17, 2016.
April 22, 2016: Criminal information filed in the same case
- Authority: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio.
- Respondent type: The same individual; an associate was named in the allegations.
- What was alleged: From about January 2009 through December 2012, the two men induced at least fifteen small business owners to buy “aged shelf corporations,” telling them they would qualify for loans larger than banks offered and that “private lenders” were waiting when none existed, and misrepresenting that the money paid was used to obtain trade references and high PAYDEX scores.10
- Outcome at the time: A charge only. The release noted that an information “is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.”10
- Source: U.S. Attorney’s release of April 22, 2016.
June 28, 2011: Reuters investigation of a Cheyenne registered address
- Authority: None. Investigative journalism.
- Respondent type: A Cheyenne business-incorporation firm and entities registered at its address.
- What was reported: More than 2,000 companies were registered at a single brick house in Cheyenne that served as the firm’s headquarters; the firm offered shelf companies and stand-in officers and directors, and Reuters traced some entities at the address to people accused of fraud.12
- Outcome: The report described no enforcement action against the firm. Reuters stated that the firm and its founder had never been sued or sanctioned according to court records, and that Wyoming officials said the firm operated legally.12
- Source: Reuters, via NBC News.
Patterns
AgedCorporations.com draws four conclusions from the entries. They are the site’s reading, not any authority’s.
Enforcement follows representations. The federal case turned on false promises of loans and credit scores, the Michigan agreement on marketing. Neither treated an aged entity as unlawful in itself. The warning signs are in shelf corporation red flags.
Sellers and agents are the targets, not buyers. The enforcement steps above, leaving aside the 2011 reporting, were aimed at sellers or agents; SF0056 alone reaches entities and their owners. A buyer’s exposure comes from what the buyer says about the entity, the subject of is it legal to buy a shelf corporation.
Wyoming is acting through its registered agent laws. SF0056, the failed SF0082 and the 2026 audits all work through the agent. See the Wyoming guide.
Federal reporting narrowed while bank checks stayed. The 2026 final rule removed the federal filing for US entities, but the bank due diligence covered on the Corporate Transparency Act page is unchanged. Before paying, check the state record with verify before you pay.
An action is added only when its primary record can be read and cited.