Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey-based company that sent false invoices for textbooks that were never purchased to over 300 Kansas public schools, including those in Lawrence.

Schmidt’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday, asks the Shawnee County District Court to order Robert Armstrong to pay a $634,000 civil penalty for multiple violations of the Kansas False Claims Act.

Armstrong is an individual doing business as Scholastic School Supply of Franklinville, N.J., according to a news release from Schmidt’s office. The company has no affiliation with Scholastic Inc., a well-known publisher of children’s books.

Julie Boyle, a spokeswoman for the Lawrence school district, said one invoice was received “for just about every school in our district.” She said the invoices were determined to be fake and none was paid.

Multiple school districts complained to Schmidt’s office about the invoices, which were received between September and December 2014. None of the schools had ordered textbooks from the company.

The Kansas False Claims Act gives the attorney general authority to file suit against individuals or entities that submit fraudulent claims for payment to a state agency or local government.