The State - News from Feb. 8, 1989

Several San Joaquin Valley residents are among about 680 people nationwide who have filed complaints against a Texas business that sent out a controversial mailer, U.S. Postal Service officials said in Oakland. A federal judge in Dallas issued a temporary restraining order to detain all mail addressed to the Camera Hut in Carrollton, Tex., said Ron Yamato, a postal inspector in Oakland. The firm is accused of sending post cards to residents in 50 states that contained receipts believed to be for a camera already ordered or purchased, Yamato said. The notices left some people with the impression that they had been issued by the Postal Service, he said. About 680 people, including residents in Manteca, Modesto and Fresno, filed complaints after they sent $12.65 to Camera Hut, thinking that they were paying for insurance and shipping charges for an expensive camera, Yamato said. He said many people either received an inexpensive plastic camera or nothing.