Florida Accuses Man of Fraud for Taking Wife’s Name, Then Backs Off - East Idaho News
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Florida Accuses Man of Fraud for Taking Wife’s Name, Then Backs Off

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ht hanh dinh lazaro sopena ll 130130 wblog?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1359632448665Jay Nguyen(NEW YORK) — A Florida man is behind the wheel of his car again after the Department of Motor Vehicles suspended and then restored his license — accusing him of fraud at first because he changed his last name to his wife’s.

“The suspension has been lifted,” said Kristen Olsen-Doolan, spokeswoman for the Florida Department Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.  “We’re doing training so everyone realizes it [the name change] works both ways.”

Lazaro Dinh, formerly Lazaro Sopena, changed his name in July of 2011 after he married his wife, Hanh Dinh.  As “an act of love” to her, he said, he decided he’d change his name.

“I wanted to surprise her,” said Lazaro.  “My family has plenty of men and I thought it would be cool to surprise her with the news.”

He began to research the Florida DMV website and said he called to make sure he would have the proper documents to make the name change possible.  All he needed, according to the DMV, was a new Social Security card and the original marriage certificate.  

When he walked into the DMV offices in West Palm Beach, he paid the $20 fee and left with a new license.  The couple had been married a month.   Following the name change on his license, Lazaro changed his name on his credit cards, passport and bank accounts.

Fast forward a year and a half to Dec. 10, 2012.  Lazaro said he received a letter from the DMV saying that his license would be suspended for a year beginning on Dec. 30, 2012.

“It was just a simple letter saying they’re [the DMV] suspending my license because I obtained it under fraud,” said Lazaro.  “I thought it was a mistake.”

Lazaro called the DMV in Tallahassee, and soon sought out legal help.  Eventually, he spoke with Forronte Battles, the DMV official handling his case.  Lazaro said Battles could not “understand why a man would want to change his last name to his wife’s.”

The DMV allowed Lazaro an administrative hearing, but according to Spencer Kuvin, the attorney he called, “The hearing officer told him that he could not change his name in the same manner that a woman could.  He would need to get a court order to do it.  Dinh objected to that and said that it was unfair.”

Lazaro received notice on Jan. 14 that the DMV had denied his right to drive.  He decided to ask for a hardship license — allowable if you’ve been accused of offenses such as drunk driving — but he was denied because of his alleged fraud.

Lazaro and his lawyer decided to appeal the order in civil court, and they called the media.  Two days later, Battles called, saying that the DMV would restore Lazaro’s driving privileges if he provided documentation of his name.  It took less than an hour for the DMV to scan Lazaro’s documents, including his new passport.  He was then issued a transcript saying the infraction had been removed.

Kuvin said the DMV “did a full about-face.”  He said there are currently nine states that allow a man to change his last name to his wife’s, including California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and North Dakota.

“Why should a man go through all of that when a woman can walk to the DMV office with $20 and say, ‘I’m married.  Can I change my name?’” said Kuvin.  “No one has tested the the law going backwards.  It’s an entirely new concept now that society has tried to bring women’s equal rights up to the level of a man.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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