Several islanders say they were duped by a Port Orchard businesswoman.

Judy Hartstone’s folder isn’t arbitrarily orange – it’s supposed to stand out.

Even if the bold color weren’t enough to distinguish it from a steadily growing clan of manila, the penned initials A.G. – for Attorney General – likely would.

But Hartstone doesn’t want folders. She wants back her antique crystal vase. Just like Donna Rogers wants back her furniture. And Marnie Arlen wants back a beaded vest and moccasins that she says were given to her grandmother by famed Apache leader Geronimo.

Hence the folders, filled with documents that tie the three women – all of whom live or recently lived on Bainbridge Island – and six others to a Port Orchard business that allegedly swindled them out of thousands of dollars.

“It makes me tired just thinking about it,” said Arlen, of her dealings with Great Estates, LLC, a company she hired to run her estate/moving sale.

Instead of some much needed help during a hectic time, Arlen said, she was robbed by Alice Simpson, proprietor of Great Estates, of at least $100,000 worth of property.

The three women’s stories are similar – each was vulnerable and stressed, each was trying to dispose of some property and each trusted Simpson, only to end up frustrated and embroiled in lengthy disputes over missing property and payment that they say never came.

“She comes across as relatively affable and slightly scattered,” Hartstone said of Simpson. “She didn’t seem to have the competence to screw anybody over.”

Nonetheless, Hartstone said, that is exactly what happened after she enlisted Simpson’s services for an estate sale that quickly went awry.

“I felt so stupid,” she said, adding that Simpson owes her more than $12,000. “Most people don’t come forward in situations like this because it’s embarrassing.

“I’d still like to get my stuff back, but even if I can’t, I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Partial vindication arrived with word that state Attorney General Rob McKenna is suing Simpson and Great Estates for allegedly failing to fully compensate customers for sold items and for keeping unsold property.

The suit was filed Monday in Kitsap County Superior Court and alleges violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.

According to the complaint, Great Estates – which has advertised in the Bainbridge Island Review newspaper and has had several sales on Bainbridge Island – accepts goods on consignment including jewelry, furniture, art, collectibles and china. They also help customers with estate and moving sales and sometimes take unsold items to sell later on the Great Estates website, online auction sites and Craigslist.org.

Simpson takes a commission, generally 35 percent for items sold at an estate sale, with a minimum fee of $500, and 40 percent for items sold online. Customers are provided with a contract that says Great Estates will provide an incremental accounting report and payment to consumers every 30 days from the start of the consignment.

Full payment is to come within 90 days, along with a spreadsheet detailing the sale price, commission and any internet selling fees.

Instead, the state attorney general alleges that Great Estates fails to provide accounting records or payment within the promised time, does not return unsold items to consumers upon request and sometimes keeps more money than they are entitled to by the contract.

The complaint also alleges that Simpson, who is present at the estate sales, places money in her pocket and doesn’t perform written on-site accounting of which items sold or at what price they were sold.

According to Assistant Attorney General Paula Selis, Simpson has 20 days from the complaint date to file a response. Selis said the state knows of at least nine people who had come forward with complaints, adding that early complaints in any consumer protection case are often “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Reached by phone Monday afternoon, Simpson said she would comment later in the day, but never called back. During a second phone call Tuesday morning, she referred all comments to her lawyer, Richard Patrick of Gig Harbor.

“Ms. Simpson has cooperated with the authorities fully and completely,” Patrick said, adding that hundreds of customers have had positive experiences with Great Estates. “She’s not conniving to abscond money from people.”

Patrick said Simpson has tried unsuccessfully to settle with some of the complainants, but isn’t even sure who all of them are. Some of the alleged accounting blunders, he said, could be attributed to a van fire in which many of Simpson’s records were destroyed. Others could be chalked up to inexperience – Simpson, he said, has only been in business for “the past few years.”

Though he wouldn’t cite specific instances, Patrick said some disputes arose over differences of opinions about what antiques are actually worth.

“In the antique business it’s important for things alleged to be historical artifacts to have their authenticity verified,” he said.

“These are serious allegations, and Ms. Simpson takes them very seriously.”

Hartstone said her ordeal began after her mother died in fall 2004. Looking to get rid of some of her belongings, Hartstone and her sister Jane Stone signed a contract with Great Estates the following March. Both thought Simpson seemed a bit unorganized, but were eager to move ahead with the sale.

“She was full of enthusiasm,” Stone said. “Then she drove off with a bunch of our stuff. I turned to my sister and said, ‘she’s got our stuff – we’ve got nothing.’”

Still, the sisters gave Simpson the benefit of the doubt. Eventually, though, things got worse. As Hartstone continued to inquire about the progress of the sale – which included jewelry, furniture and other items – she found Simpson “evasive.” Hartstone received some money, but there was no accounting, she said, and the amounts received weren’t what they’d agreed upon.

“She would just make up numbers,” Hartstone said. “She always came up with these elaborate lies off the top of her head.”

Finally, after continued attempts to get her money or her property back from Simpson, Hartstone hired an attorney and contacted the police, who began investigating. Hartstone herself began going to Simpson’s estate sales, hoping to find others who’d had similar problems.

That group included Rogers, who hired Simpson around the same time as Hartstone.

“It was horrendous,” she said of her experience with Great Estates. “She sold things that weren’t for sale. We got little or nothing in return. She preys on people who are vulnerable.”

Arlen, whose father had been executor of five estates and had collected decades worth of memorabilia from his time working for the Great Northern Railway, said she and her husband were selling a large amount of property to help finance their move to Colorado.

“We never saw a penny,” she said. “I basically lost my whole inheritance.”

Some items, like the Geronimo artifacts – given to her grandmother at Fort Sill, Okla., in the late 1800s – were never meant for sale.

“She was going to have them appraised,” Arlen said. “But we never saw them again.”

After making little progress, Hartstone took a new approach. In January 2006, she filed a formal complaint with the state attorney general’s office. Now, just over a year later, the case appears headed for court. Her hope, like that of Rogers and Arlen, is that she’ll be compensated.

“I never thought anyone would con me,” she said. “I thought I would know better.”

Still, she’s glad she pressed the issue, and grateful to police and the attorney general for listening.

“Some people would have just written this off,” Hartstone said. “I didn’t.”