Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has ordered a Texas company to cease operating two websites that she alleges are misleading visitors into believing that they are buying official tickets to some Mackinac Island attractions. 

In a cease and desist notice to MTVRS, LLC, Nessel accuses the company of violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. 

The company has until Oct. 6 to take down the websites or change them to comply with Michigan law and meet with the Department of Attorney General to discuss an agreement for voluntary assurance of compliance, Nessel's office said. If the company fails to do so, Nessel says it could result in litigation and civil fines.

A website that MTVRS operates, fortmackinactickets.com, is accused of mimicking the official website that sells Fort Mackinac tickets and is controlled by the government group that oversees park preservation. The notice notes that the MTVRS website uses a logo that is misleading and marks up prices. 

"While the MTVRS website does contain a disclosure that the website is not connected with the Fort, that disclosure appears far down the page, well after multiple opportunities to purchase tickets, and allegedly fails to meet requirements under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act," the attorney general's office said.

Nessel alleges a second website that MTVRS operates, mackinacticketing.com, misleads customers who are looking to buy ferry tickets to Mackinac Island by using the address and scheduling information for Shepler's Ferry, creating the impression that tickets are being purchased directly from Shepler's official website.

The attorney general's office also alleges that MTVRS charges customers an additional $7.95 fee before using a customer's payment information to buy tickets from the official Shepler's website. 

The operators of Shepler's Ferry and Fort Mackinac have noted several instances in recent weeks of visitors arriving at the ferry or the fort with an email from MTVRS reflecting that a purchase has been made, which Nessel says is not valid for entry. 

"Mackinac Island welcomes more than a million visitors each year, and they deserve to know that the tickets they purchase online will get them onto the ferry and into popular attractions," Nessel said in a statement. "My office remains committed to pursuing bad actors who attempt to take advantage of Michigan residents and visitors."