Attorney General Chris Koster says his Joplin office has fielded nearly 300 consumer complaints since the May tornado.

On Wednesday he updated the list:
Mortgage Fraud, 54 complaints, with 40 resolved;
Rent increase issues, 51 complaints and 30 resolved;
Towing, 13 complaints and 5 resolved;
Charity, 8 complaints and 2 closed; and
Home repair, 9 complaints and 5 closed.

Open cases remain under investigation.

To date, Koster has filed three lawsuits related to the Joplin tornado: two lawsuits against towing companies and a price-gouging lawsuit against a landlord for unfairly raising tenants’ rates.

Koster the landlord suit on Wednesday. According to court filings, David Box Junior is accused of raising rents to existing tenants by 16% to 25% after the May 22nd tornado, and then gave tenants just three days to get out if they refused.

In addition to helping victims with consumer fraud issues, staff also help in other areas such as helping people communicate with their banks and assist in getting identity documents replaced that were lost in the storm.