General Steel Corp. will pay $4.5 million to settle a consumer protection case filed against the company more than three years ago, according to Attorney General John Suthers.

Suthers said in a statement: "In order for the free market to function properly, advertisers must be held accountable for the accuracy of their pitches. I am pleased to bring this long litigation to an end, and to provide some relief for consumers who lost deposits as a result of these deceptive sales practices."

Suthers' office had alleged that General Steel, a company in Lakewood that sells large metal buildings to customers across the country, carried out a misleading sales and marketing plan. The company falsely suggested that it manufactured buildings available at factory-direct or clearance prices when in fact no such buildings existed, Suthers claimed.