---
title: Recent Department of Commerce Actions
description: check in with 2023 cases in the Commerce area
image: https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/Canva%20Design%20DAFeIgJemQc.png
---
[Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin)
- [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer)
- [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo)
- [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn)
- [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law)
- [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney)
- [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal)
[Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/recent-department-of-commerce-actions#)
03/24/2023
# Recent Department of Commerce Actions
-
-
-
-
- [mailto:?subject=Recent%20Department%20of%20Commerce%20Actions&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Frecent-department-of-commerce-actions](mailto:?subject=Recent%20Department%20of%20Commerce%20Actions&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Frecent-department-of-commerce-actions)
Here's another installment of recent regulatory action taken by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The department regulates mortgage originators, real estate agents, appraisers, and other professions.
Real estate appraisers have faced heavy scrutiny recently. Civil penalties of up to $8,000.00 have been assessed related to work file maintenance and failure to deliver a clear and accurate report. Geographically, the scope spans from the Iron Range to Brooklyn Park to New London. This is not a great surprise given the rapid pace and high volume of transactions that were happening in recent years. Those files are not getting exposed for critical review.
In a fairly shocking outcome, a mortgage originator licensee was merely suspended and paid a civil penalty "following his conviction" of hiring a prostitute under the age of 18. Personally, I would have expected such a conviction to result in revocation. But, the department decided to let the person keep the license so long as he complies with the Consent Order. Under certain circumstances the license can be revoked if the licensee does not comply with his agreement.
Somewhat surprisingly, only 3 enforcement actions were taken recently against mortgage licensees.
Real estate agents had a tough run lately. There were a number of enforcement actions related to failure to get required paperwork completed, not disclosing the effect of dual agency, rummaging through a person's belongings (presumably during a showing), and failing to report civil judgments.
Keep your eyes open and stay diligent on your paperwork. If someone complains, don't represent yourself. The department wants to trick you into self-incrimination. Be honest, but careful, and get representation!
- [commercial real estate](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/commercial-real-estate),
- [Minnesota Department of Commerce](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/minnesota-department-of-commerce)
## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin)
Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo.
### CONNECT WITH ME
-
## Related Posts
[10/14/2020 Recent Regulatory Actions by the Minnesota Department of Commerce It has been a while since I checked on the erratic and heavy-handed Department of Commerce, but this week I took a peek at the recent regulatory…
Read Post
](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/recent-regulatory-actions-by-the-minnesota-department-of-commerce)
[08/05/2020 Minnesota Supreme Court Rules on Independent Contractor Liability Utilization of independent contractors by companies is extremely common. A critical element of that relationship is that as between the company and…
Read Post
](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/minnesota-supreme-court-rules-on-independent-contractor-liability)
### Subscribe Here!
```json
{
"@context" : "https://schema.org",
"@type" : "BlogPosting",
"author" : {
"@type" : "Person",
"name" : "Dan Gallatin",
"url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin"
},
"dateModified" : "2023-03-24T18:38:32.521Z",
"datePublished" : "2023-03-24T18:38:32.000Z",
"headline" : "Recent Department of Commerce Actions",
"image" : [ "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/Canva%20Design%20DAFeIgJemQc.png" ],
"mainEntityOfPage" : {
"@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/recent-department-of-commerce-actions",
"@type" : "WebPage"
},
"publisher" : {
"@type" : "Organization",
"logo" : {
"@type" : "ImageObject",
"url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png"
},
"name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC"
}
}
```