CROSBY, Minn. - Former Crosby mayor Jim Hunter was fined and given a cease and desist order by the state in October.
Hunter, who was charged with felony assault and theft by swindle earlier this year, resigned his position as mayor in August. The charges stem from a con Hunter allegedly ran involving the sale of his business, Buy Sell Trade in Crosby.
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Along with the more serious crimes was a gross misdemeanor charge for selling vehicle financing without a license-the same activity for which the Minnesota Department of Commerce fined Hunter $30,000 last month. And $25,000 of the fine was stayed so long as he complied with the cease and desist order telling him to stop the illegal activity.
An attached document signed by Hunter and his attorney, Ed Shaw, stated Hunter consented with the order.
The illegal activity in particular that drew the ire of the Department of Commerce involved Hunter's car sales business, CI Auto, charging money to set up car payment plans on the vehicles they sold. The trouble is, in Minnesota, one needs to have a separate, specific license to operate as a vehicle sales finance company, which CI Auto did not have. The titles of cars listed both CI Auto and Hunter himself as the lienholders.
The commerce department also stated in 2015, Hunter lied on his renewal application to be a public notary by answering "no" to a question that asked whether he had ever been charged with a crime.
In fact, Hunter was charged with disorderly conduct and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct after a May 2011 incident in which he allegedly made inappropriate sexual comments to a waitress at the Crosby Cafe and allegedly inappropriately touched a cook's breasts, according to a criminal complaint. He was acquitted of the charges the following year, according to the state trial court database.
The agency's order strips Hunter of his office as a notary in the state of Minnesota, and orders him to turn in his notary stamp. In an affidavit, Hunter said his stamp was taken in March by authorities as part of a search warrant at the time of his arrest in March. He said he did not know where the stamp was, but if it were found, he would send it to the commerce department within five days.
An order by Crow Wing County Judge Earl E. Maus prohibited attorneys on both sides of the pending felony case from speaking to the media without prior permission from the court.
