BUSINESS BRIEF

Mich. to crack down on fake insurance cards

9/16/2013

LANSING — The Michigan secretary of state says fraud has emerged as a significant problem for motorists registering their cars.

Ruth Johnson vowed a crackdown during a news conference Monday. She says fake insurance cards have turned up in more than half of Michigan’s 83 counties.

Her office has suspended at least 4,300 vehicle registrations this year because the certificates weren’t legitimate, compared with 431 in all of 2011.

Ms. Johnson says the problem became clear after a new law required insurance companies to verify coverage to her office twice monthly.