SAINT PAUL, MN:  During Consumer Protection Week March 2-8, the Minnesota Department of Commerce is reminding Minnesotans about consumer protection help they can find at Commerce for complaints about debt collection, insurance, lending, money transmission, real estate and other financial services. 

The State of Minnesota Proclamation by Governor Tim Walz declaring March 2-8 as Consumer Protection Week states, “Minnesota has a strong track record of establishing state laws to protect consumers, including recent laws aimed at preventing senior fraud, protecting student loan borrowers, capping payday loan rates, and protecting consumer financial data in case of cyber attack.”

“We are here to help Minnesotans to protect consumers and ensure businesses can operate in a fair, competitive marketplace,” said Commerce Assistant Commissioner of Enforcement Jacqueline Olson. “Our teams investigate thousands of complaints each year, resulting in numerous enforcement actions and, at times, money recovered for consumers. We also partner with others, including law enforcement and other states, to investigate violations of consumer protection laws.” 

Enforcement actions 

Commerce investigates consumer complaints across a wide range of industries, including insurance, real estate, and financial products.  Such investigations may involve debt collection, money transmission, money lending, student loans, debt management, debt settlement, credit services, real estate, mortgage, and ticket sales.  

Commerce has opened 1,081 cases since January 1, 2024, to investigate consumer complaints involving debt collection, debt settlement, credit services, lending and money transmission companies. These investigations resulted in over 35 enforcement actions, over $2 million in civil penalties, and over $450,000 recovered on behalf of Minnesotans.  

Commerce also plays a role in preventing fraud against seniors and vulnerable adults and educating them about how to avoid scams and fraud.  Since January 1, 2024, Commerce’s senior fraud team has opened 1,058 cases and worked with financial institutions and law enforcement to place account holds in excess of $7.7 million to prevent senior fraud and financial exploitation from occurring.  (More info on account holds for suspected fraud)

Examples of recent enforcement actions 

Payday lending:  Through a final order, Commerce voided all short-term consumer loans, also known as payday loans, made to Minnesotan consumers by Strategic Solution Services, Inc., doing business as Arrow Mountain Funding and Line of Credit Now. The lender was not licensed to provide loans in Minnesota and was not complying with the state’s lending laws. Commerce also fined the company $10,000 (more info).

Debt collector: Through a consent order, Commerce alleged that Helbing Law Group was operating as an unregistered debt collector in Minnesota and was not following state consumer protection laws. The consent order resulted in a refund of 40% of all fees collected from Minnesota consumers during the time the company was unregistered and a fine of $20,000 (consent order).    

Multi-state actions: Commerce also protects consumers through regulatory actions in collaboration with multiple states. In January, Commerce joined three multi-state settlements totaling $203 million, with enforcement actions involving Block’s Cash App, Edward Jones and Vanguard (more info). 

New consumer protection laws 

Commerce has advocated for new state laws to expand consumer protections in the insurance, real estate, and financial services industries. For example, in 2024, Minnesota became the first state to pass three “model act” laws to modernize regulations and enhance consumer protections for nonbank financial services (more info). Other recent new laws include cybersecurity data breach consumer protections and crypto kiosk regulations. 

How the Minnesota Department of Commerce can help

Minnesota consumers and businesses can contact Commerce’s Enforcement Division about concerns or complaints: 

• File a complaint online 
• Email: consumer.protection@state.mn.us  
• Verify whether a financial/insurance company or professional is licensed to do business in Minnesota: License Lookup.
• Search Commerce Actions and Regulatory Documents to view past enforcement actions. 

Connect with the Minnesota Commerce Department
Get updates and news from the Minnesota Department of Commerce by following Commerce at mn.gov/commerce or @MNCommerce on social media.

Contact
Mo Schriner
Minnesota Department of Commerce
651-363-1227
mo.schriner@state.mn.us