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HARRISBURG—Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced today that the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has filed suit against Diane Comrey, doing business as “Earthcare & Conservation.”
Through Earthcare & Conservation, Comrey sold herself as someone who could prepare and submit nutrient management plans, among other official documents, to government agencies on behalf of farmers. Preparing and submitting this information ensures farms are operating legally, and qualifies them for certain government reimbursement programs. Comrey repeatedly accepted money to do this critical work and, by failing to provide the services farmers paid for, violated consumer protection laws.
“Pennsylvania’s farmers trusted Comrey to complete and submit important plans on their behalf, plans that could make or break their farming operations,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “When she took their money and failed to deliver, she betrayed the trust of Pennsylvanians working in an already tightly pinched industry. I will always take action to protect our consumers and our farmers. I would like to thank the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture for their help in bringing this lawsuit.”
One farmer from Dauphin County hired Comrey in 2019, paying her $4,266 to complete a plan and submit that plan to the necessary government agencies. After 18 months of continued attempts to contact her, he finally heard from Comrey, only for her to cancel, at the last minute, their plan to meet and deliver the plans to the farmer. All the farmer’s requests for a refund to date have subsequently been ignored by Comrey.
When Comrey did do her work, the filing argues it was often subpar and failed to meet industry or statutory standards. Comrey was hired by a farmer in Bedford County, who paid her $4,000 for her services. She submitted the plan to the farmer only after threats of legal action. The plan Combrey submitted was full of errors and missing basic requirements, causing the local conservation district to require the farmer resubmit the plan. Comrey’s resubmitted plan also failed to meet basic statutory standards, and threatened serious financial harm to the farmer’s operations as a result of the delays.
Pennsylvanians who have paid for goods and services that haven’t been delivered should file a complaint at https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/ or contact the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at scams@attorneygeneral.gov.
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