PHOENIX -- Attorney General Terry Goddard announced Friday that he has filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order to stop the perpetrators of an alleged fraud that claimed a homeowner's property qualified for a "property tax reduction review."

• Read: Example Of Bogus Property Tax Reduction Form

The lawsuit names Property Tax Review Board, Inc., a Granada Hill, Calif.-based company; Property Tax Review Board's President and CEO Michael McConville, of Simi Valley, Calif., and Carmen Mercer, of Tombstone, owner of the Post Office box included in the solicitation.

"This solicitation appears to be an attempt to scam homeowners who are looking to reduce their property tax bill," Goddard said.

The solicitation, which requests a $189 processing fee, is not affiliated with any government entity, Goddard said. The document attempts to appear official and contains a “notice number” and deadline for prompt processing.

Assessed valuations for 2009 cannot be changed since the appeals process for 2009 has ended, Goddard said. "In addition, there is no fee required to file a property valuation appeal with county treasurers’ or assessors’ offices in Arizona," he added.

The letter was sent by a company called the Property Tax Review Board.

Cindy Cox of Surprise received one of the letters in the mail this week and immediately thought it didn't look quite right.

"It definitely looks official and I can see how a lot of people could get fooled," said Cox. "I think this is someone preying on the elderly, disadvantaged and folks who are struggling to save money."

CBS-5 contacted the man responsible for sending out the letters. Michael McConville operates the Property Tax Review Board from California.

McConville said that the letter and envelope clearly state that they are not associated with any government agency.

"Just like Jiffy Lube when they change your oil, they're providing a service you could do on your own," McConville said. "We're not trying to mislead anybody, not trying to steal money, we're just trying to help people out."

The company has previously sent out Property Tax letters to homeowners in California and Nevada.

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges that the solicitations distributed by McConville and Property Tax Review Board are completely fraudulent and deceptive because the deadline for appealing 2009 property valuations has lapsed, Goddard said.

It also alleges that the defendants led consumers to believe they were conducting a legitimate business when, in fact, they were accepting monies for services that they cannot perform, Goddard said.

On Friday, Mercer, who is a well-known activist for the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps., turned over to U.S. Postal Inspectors the Post Office box and the more than 1,000 responses she has received, Goddard said.

Mercer claimed she was asked to open the Post Office box by a friend and that she did not know its intended purpose, Goddard added.