The Texas attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit accusing an Austin company of selling fraudulent discount health card plans to pregnant women, the office announced Monday.

The lawsuit claims that Austin-based AHCO Direct, also known as Affordable HealthCare Options, and its owners, Brian McDonald and Aaron Bouren, sold fake discount cards to uninsured pregnant women that promised to cover up to 60 percent of maternity-related costs.

The two are accused of multiple violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Abbott said in a statement.

The cards were marketed to uninsured pregnant women via Google ads, the lawsuit said.

The company's Web site states that a large number of health care providers accept their MaternityCard, which it said would lower the cost of doctors' visits, sonograms, prescriptions and other prenatal care. The plan cost $199 to enroll and $99 a month, the lawsuit said.

But MaternityCard users who visited the doctors on the company's preferred provider list were told the card wouldn't be accepted, and when customers complained and tried to cancel the card, they faced a $250 cancellation fee, the lawsuit claims.

"Texas law prohibits vendors from baiting consumers with promises and failing to deliver on their guarantee," Abbott said.

In a statement, Affordable Health Care Options said it "takes the statements by the attorney general's office very seriously and will actively cooperate to assist in establishing the facts regarding the operation of the company."

More than 140 people complained to the attorney general's office and the Better Business Bureau about the card, Abbott's office said.

"To me, it is a scam," said Austinite Elna Reinach, who paid $699 for a year's worth of coverage in December 2006 and became pregnant soon after. She said she was drawn to the card on the Internet because her health insurance doesn't cover maternity costs.

Reinach said she first became suspicious when the card didn't give her a discount on her lab visits, as advertised.

She said she then called a sonogram provider, who said they had never heard of the card. When she tried sending her medical bills to AHCO, they told her they couldn't help her with visits that had already been paid for.

"I had to deal with this all while being pregnant and having a baby," Reinach said. Her daughter was born in September.

"I want them to reimburse me for what I paid them. They didn't do anything for me."