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An imaginative solution by lawyers in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will now allow some people to buy a house or other property without revealing their location.
The Safe at Home law allows people who have a realistic fear for their safety to use a post office box as their official address. A 2013 change was designed to further protect their identity; however it had an unintended consequence – preventing the sale or mortgage of properties.
Minnesota’s real estate system is based on open access to land records. Officials in the Hennepin County Recorder’s Office were baffled by how they could comply with the new law and maintain open access to land records.
“This is another example of why the citizens of Hennepin County should be proud of the lawyers in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. “When the law was passed, we were the county that led the way by accepting the challenge of finding a solution that would allow real estate transactions to occur while protecting people who have serious safety concerns. It took nearly a year of working with other government agencies, but they came up with a brilliant solution.”
Learn more about this challenge and its creative solution.
A Farmington couple has been charged with theft by swindle for buying American Girl dolls from a discount website and then returning them to the Mall of America store for a full price refund.
Henry Lim Cho, 34, and his wife, Jennifer Jo Cho, 37, were each charged with one count of theft by swindle in excess of $5,000. The charges were sent by summons and a first court appearance has not yet been set.
“The American Girl dolls have been a huge favorite of young girls throughout the country and the Chos thought they could cash in on that popularity,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said.
According to the criminal complaint, the Chos were buying American Girl dolls at less than retail price from Jill’s Steals and Deals website. The Chos would drive to the American Girl Mall of America store and return the items for full price.
Jennifer Cho, who was a special agent for the Minnesota Department of Commerce-Fraud Bureau, was terminated. Henry Cho is a retired police officer. Read more about this case.
Recently there have been some successful phishing attacks in Minnesota. Phishing attacks are emails that look like they are from legitimate organizations but are actually fraudulent attempts to gather identity, financial, or other personal information about their targets.
Quick tips to prevent your account from being compromised:
- Do not open emails from someone you don’t know.
- Don’t click on links or open attachments unless you trust the sender.
- Never give anyone your password.
- Poor grammar and spelling are indicators of phishing attempts.
More tips to stay safe online. |
