ROCHESTER -- Michaels Stores, a Texas-based arts and crafts supplier, has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle deceptive-advertising charges leveled by New York State regulators.
Under a settlement announced Monday with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the Irving, Texas-based chain is paying $800,000 in civil penalties and contributing $1 million to hundreds of public schools around New York to help pay for arts and crafts supplies.
Schneiderman accused the chain of claiming to offer discounts over the past two years while charging full price.
Michaels operates 48 stores in New York State, including locally in Fairmount, Mattydale, and DeWitt.
The attorney general says it began tracking Michaels' offers of 50 percent discounts for custom framing in 2009. The company says it instituted a new advertising policy in May to comply with the attorney general's findings.
