By RYAN SKAITH
Secretary of State Paul Pate is calling on lawmakers to streamline the process for dissolving fraudulent business registrations, citing a need to protect residents from harassment.
Under current Iowa law, all incorporated businesses must file registration paperwork with the secretary of state’s office. Pate told legislators that some bad actors use legitimate residential addresses to register dishonest companies. This often leads to unsuspecting homeowners being hounded by creditors and others searching for the business owners.
Pate characterized the existing administrative process for removing these fraudulent entities as “too cumbersome” and excessively slow. He is seeking legislative changes that would allow his office to act more quickly to shut down registrations tied to verified fraud or identity theft.
