AUGUSTA — Attorney General William Schneider is warning schools, businesses and government agencies about a deceptive mailing.

The mailings, from a California-based company called UST, appear to be bills for $425 for services rendered. But Schneider says they are a disguised solicitation that may mislead recipients into paying for services that were neither ordered nor received.

Schneider says his office has heard from school and city purchasing agents who received the invoices but had never done business with the company. Schneider calls the solicitation “a ruse” and says organizations should not be fooled into paying for something they never ordered.