The Boston Attorney General’s office has obtained a preliminary injunction against Hingham-based College Advisors Group (CAG), its sister companies and its operator, Mr. Kirk Brown, prohibiting them from engaging in a variety of allegedly unfair and deceptive practices in the field of college financial planning.

The court order, signed earlier this week by Judge Thomas Connolly in Suffolk Superior Court, stems from a February lawsuit alleging that Brown and CAG engaged in deceptive marketing practices, violated banking laws and insurance regulations, and misled consumers by knowingly selling them unsuitable investments they could not afford. Under the terms of the court order, CAG will be prohibited from continuing with its current business model.

CAG, its sister companies College Funding Associates and College Advisory Management, and CAG’s operator Kirk Brown, are prohibited from using a variety of practices, including using misleading charts and reports, displaying false information on its website, charging the company’s $800 fee when the company also received commissions for the same work, advising customers to purchase unsuitable life insurance policies as part of a financial plan, and accepting fees and kickbacks for business referrals relating to mortgage refinancing.  Under the terms of the agreement, CAG is also required to give potential customers notice of the Attorney General’s pending enforcement action.