A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation to improve protections for Ohio businesses from fraud, theft, and scams.
Senate Bill (SB) 98, sponsored by State Senator Michael Rulli (R-Salem), contains solutions Rulli says will allow Ohio businesses to combat those issues.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Stivers joined Rulli at a press conference on last week to support the legislation.
“We’ve made Ohio the best state in the nation to start and grow a business, and that means we need to look out for our entrepreneurs. In today’s tech-driven culture, businesses of all sizes face the growing threat of identity theft and fraud. This bill is designed to crack down on the bad actors trying to rip off Ohio’s job creators,” LaRose said
According to Rulli, they have found three critical issues causing harm to Ohio businesses.
“We’ve identified three areas of major concern that are causing great harm to entrepreneurs trying to run a legitimate business,” Rulli said.
The reforms aim to address business identity theft, fraudulent business filings, and deceptive mailings.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, identity theft affects one out of every ten individuals. According to a news release from Rulli, identity thieves are now preying on companies at an alarming rate, which could have disastrous results.
Under SB 98, people and companies would be able to report instances in which a con artist fraudulently registered a new company using someone else’s address or personal information or attempted to use a legitimate business filing as a front. The attorney general would look into the allegation. The secretary of state may cancel the fraudulent filing and redact the victim’s information if the attorney general finds the business filing fraudulent.
Additionally, it would mandate that mailings clearly state that they are not from a government entity and that the mailing address be the agent’s main residence or usual place of business.
“We believe these simple but sensible reforms will provide highly effective solutions to problems we simply can’t let get out of hand. These reforms will further help Ohioans unleash their tremendous potential to succeed, realize the American Dream, and make our great state even greater,” Rulli said.
The legislation is currently under review by the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Michael Rulli” by The Ohio Senate. Photo “Frank LaRose” by Ohio Secretary of State. Background Photo “Ohio State Capitol” by formulanone. CC BY-SA 2.0.
