A St. Paul coin dealer was sued on Friday by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson for allegedly charging people for gold and silver coins that she then failed to deliver. Swanson filed the suit in Ramsey County District Court against Tiffany Grady, who does business as The Stella Group.

It alleges that Grady and the business violated state consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices laws and cites examples of people allegedly solicited by The Stella Group to pay thousands of dollars for coins that were promised but never received.

For instance, an 82-year-old woman paid $12,000 for 10 coins in May after allegedly getting a call from The Stella Group. In July, a 63-year-old man wired Grady $62,500 after she told him she had a "good deal" on coins. The coins weren't delivered in either case.

"People should exercise caution before sending money to dealers who aggressively pursue them to invest in coins," Swanson said in a statement.