C.R.S. § 7-90-402: Interrogatories by secretary of state - fraudulent business records - definition.

(1) The secretary of state may propound to any domestic entity that has a constituent filed document filed in the records of the secretary of state, to any foreign entity that is authorized to transact business or conduct activities in this state, and to any manager thereof, such interrogatories as may be reasonably necessary and proper to enable the secretary of state to ascertain whether the entity has complied with all the provisions of the organic statutes. The interrogatories shall be answered within thirty days after the mailing thereof or within such additional time as fixed by the secretary of state, and the answers thereto shall be full and complete and shall be made in writing. If the interrogatories are directed to an individual, they shall be answered by the individual, and if directed to an entity, they shall be answered by a manager of the entity or by any other person authorized to answer the interrogatories as its agent. The secretary of state need not file any document to which such interrogatories relate until the interrogatories are answered as provided in this section, and not then if the answers thereto disclose that the document is not in conformity with the provisions of the organic statutes. The secretary of state shall certify to the attorney general, for such action as the attorney general may deem appropriate, all interrogatories and answers thereto that disclose a violation of any of the provisions of the organic statutes.

(2) Interrogatories propounded by the secretary of state and the answers thereto shall not be open to public inspection, nor shall the secretary of state disclose any facts or information obtained therefrom, except insofar as the official duty of the secretary of state may require the same to be made public or in the event such interrogatories or the answers thereto are required for evidence in any criminal proceedings or in any other action by this state.

(3) Each entity that fails or refuses to answer truthfully and fully, within the time prescribed by subsection (1) of this section, interrogatories propounded to the entity by the secretary of state in accordance with the provisions of said subsection (1) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars.

(4) Each manager of an entity who fails or refuses to answer truthfully and fully, within the time prescribed by subsection (1) of this section, interrogatories propounded to the manager by the secretary of state in accordance with the provisions of said subsection (1) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars.

(5) The attorney general may enforce this section in an action brought in the district court for the county in this state in which the street address of the entity's principal office or the street address of its registered agent is located or, if the entity has no principal office in this state and no registered agent, in the district court in and for the city and county of Denver.

(6) (a) If the secretary of state has a reasonable basis to believe that a record is fraudulent or unauthorized based on the response or failure to respond to an interrogatory, the secretary of state may:

(I) Mark the record with a notice that the record is unauthorized or fraudulent and declare the entity delinquent pursuant to sections 7-90-901 and 7-90-902;

(II) Redact the unauthorized address or name from the record and from any other relevant records;

(III) Disable additional filing functionality on the entity's records; and

(IV) Take actions authorized in section 7-90-314 (4)(g)(VIII).

(b) As used in this section, "reasonable basis" means the secretary of state has information reasonably demonstrating that a filing has violated section 7-90-314 (1). This information includes a record having the following with respect to a record determined to be fraudulent or unauthorized under section 7-90-314:

(I) A match or close similarity in an entity or contact name or address with the fraudulent or unauthorized record;

(II) Patterns of activity consistent with the fraudulent or unauthorized record; or

(III) Electronic identifiers associated with the fraudulent or unauthorized record.

(c) A person aggrieved by an action taken by the secretary of state under subsection (6)(a) of this section may request the secretary of state to reverse the actions taken. The request must be submitted in a form prescribed by the secretary of state and include evidence showing that the action was an error. If the secretary of state denies the request, the aggrieved person may seek judicial review by bringing an action in the district court in and for the city and county of Denver.