WASHINGTON — Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general, served on the advisory board of a Florida company that a federal judge shut down last year and fined nearly $26 million after the government accused it of scamming customers.
The company, World Patent Marketing, "bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars" by promising inventors lucrative patent agreements, according to a complaint filed in Florida by the Federal Trade Commission.
Court documents show that when frustrated consumers tried to get their money back, Scott J. Cooper, the company's president and founder, used Mr. Whitaker to threaten them as a former federal prosecutor. Mr. Cooper's company paid Mr. Whitaker nearly $10,000 before it closed.
Mr. Whitaker's role in the company would complicate his confirmation prospects should President Trump nominate him as attorney general.
It is not clear if Mr. Trump was aware of Mr. Whitaker's involvement with the patent marketing company before naming him as a replacement for Jeff Sessions, who was ousted by Mr. Trump on Wednesday.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Whitaker's ties to the patent company, which were first reported by The Miami New Times.
Before his ascension to the office of the nation's top law enforcement official, Mr. Whitaker, 49, was Mr. Sessions's chief of staff. A conservative Republican from Iowa, he was seen within the Justice Department as a White House loyalist who publicly expressed doubts about the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether Mr. Trump or any of his associates conspired in the effort.
Mr. Whitaker's appointment has prompted concerns that he might shut down or stymie the special counsel's investigation.
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