COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A newspaper investigation of Ohio Internet
cafes and their owners has found most of the businesses provided
incomplete information to the state and most of the operators identified
had spotty financial backgrounds or criminal histories.
The Columbus Dispatch report comes as state lawmakers debate how to regulate the operations.
The newspaper found more than half the 780
businesses registered with Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine provided
only a street address. Almost 100 aren't on file with the Ohio Secretary
of State.
Of 221 individual operators who registered, only
122 provided sufficient information to be identified. Six in 10 of those
identified had spotty financial histories including tax liens and
bankruptcies. A dozen had criminal backgrounds.
DeWine called it "the Wild, Wild West" and urged lawmakers to take control.
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