One Wyoming resident unsuccessfully tried to sue Pierce in 2022 over some allegedly faulty gold pieces sold by a corporation Pierce registered in the state. Pierce’s lawyer wrote in a court filing that his client resided in Puerto Rico, and “has no significant ties to the state of Wyoming.” The case against him was dismissed.

But the customer was later awarded a default judgment against the company that sold him the jewelry, court records show. The customer said in a court filing that he tried calling the seller repeatedly but was “hung up on” and that the seller’s address “is unknown and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained.” The seller failed to show up for the hearing, resulting in the judgment in the customer’s favor.

Mark Pierce characterized the registered agent’s role in Wyoming as limited. He said the Wyoming Secretary of State or other authorities can request additional records and information they keep on file about the businesses they register, but added that rarely happens.

He suggested, though, that consumers should be “more wary” of a product tied to the Trump name and left little doubt how he viewed the former president.

“If Mr. Trump or anyone in his family were on the same side of the street I was on,” Pierce said, “I would cross the street.”