Following a 2005 agreement with DuPont after a lawsuit filed by the office of Rhode Island state Attorney General Patrick Lynch against former lead paint manufacturers, the state has undergone a project to clean up as many as 600 housing units contaminated with toxic lead paint by 2012. Funded by DuPont, this $6.7 million project targets homes and apartments in low-income neighborhoods.
Eleven Michigan gas stations have signed deals with the state to settle allegations made by state Attorney General Mike Cox that they gouged drivers by raising gas prices to $5 a gallon when Hurricane Ike made landfall near major oil facilities in Texas on Sept. 12, 2008.
Georgia Attorney General Troy King, together with 40 other State Attorneys General, announced a settlement with the TJX Companies, Inc. The settlement results from an intensive 2007 investigation by the coalition of Attorneys General into TJX’s data security policies and procedures after TJX announced that certain persons had obtained access to its computer systems, seizing cardholder data and other personally identifiable information.
The state Attorney General Mark J. Bennett wants to combine the lawsuits that four state employee unions filed against plans by Gov. Linda Lingle to implement three-day-a-month furloughs.
Accusing the ailing automaker of trying to skirt state laws, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray filed an objection Friday to General Motors' plan to restructure itself. He joins attorneys general from Nebrask and other states in protesting the way GM is handling its dealers, claiming that GM’s requirements “unquestionably violate Ohio law and are completely contrary to the purpose of having state franchise laws.”
Eight attorneys general sent a letter to Obama on Tuesday urging him to preserve states' ability to enforce consumer protection laws, make sure federal consumer protection laws are the responsibility of an agency that can handle the task and not allow the financial industry to regulate itself. The letter was signed by California's Jerry Brown, Massachusetts' Martha Coakley, Maryland's Doug Gansler, North Carolina's Roy Cooper, Ohio's Richard Cordray, Illinois' Lisa Madigan, Iowa's Tom Miller and Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal.
Attorney General Mike Cox and Treasurer Robert Kleine announced a $109 million national settlement with Ernst & Young resulting from audits it conducted that failed to expose massive fraud taking place when serving as HealthSouth Corporation's auditing firm. The class action case alleged accounting errors and irregularities against Ernst & Young, including overstating financial statements and failing to conduct audits that were in compliance to generally accepted auditing standards for HealthSouth.
Attorney General Jim Hood settled an antitrust suit with Microsoft Corp for $100 million on Thursday and said businesses, individuals, schools and local government were eligible for a share of the money. The state sued Microsoft in 2004 claiming the company engaged in anticompetitive conduct that caused customers to pay more for software than they would have if there had been competition.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed 14 loan-modification companies and plans to sue another one as part of a probe of the “foreclosure rescue” industry. Spurred by homeowner complaints that the companies fail to deliver the services they promise, often leaving consumers further in debt, Cuomo has stated that these companies are capitalizing on the housing crisis and preying on desperate homeowners.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit on Thursday against BP Plc's (BP.L) U.S. subsidiary for violations of state pollution laws by the company's giant Texas City, Texas, refinery. Seeking court orders to force BP to comply with state laws along with unspecified civil penalties, the suit cites 46 releases of pollution at the refinery, including those associated with a March 23, 2005, explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 180 other people.
Attorney General announces price gouging settlement with Radford, Dublin gas stations (June 1, 2009)
Virginia Attorney General Bill Mims today announced a price gouging settlement with L. V. Stone, Incorporated d/b/a Bucko's Pantry, a gasoline retailer with stations in Radford and Dublin. After violating the Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act by charging unconscionable prices as Hurricane Ike approached the Gulf Coast, Bucko’s Pantry has agreed, in lieu of paying civil penalties, to set aside $400 for consumer restitution, $800 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief fund and $2,800 to reimburse the Commonwealth for its costs, investigative expenses, and attorneys’ fees in this matter.
As part of Operation False Charity, nationwide crackdown on fraudulent charities, California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed eight lawsuits against a dozen charities and their fundraisers, alleging they had used false claims to raise millions of dollars and then squandered the donations intended to help police, firefighters and veterans organizations. Seeking the involuntary dissolution of the eight charities, according to Brown’s statement, Brown intends for the suits to stop the deceptive practices and recoup funds raised under false pretenses
After reviewing more than 2,000 complaints received over the past three years by the state and the Better Business Bureau, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot filed a law suit against Conn’s, a Beaumont-based electronics and appliance retailer, for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Conn’s has allegedly failed to honor warranties, has deceptively exchanged refurbished products as new and has used aggressive sales practices to sell warranties to customers, facing penalties of up to $20,000 for each violation and a $250,000 penalty for each time the company as financially harmed consumers 65 and older.
AGs say they oppose Chrysler bankruptcy (May 28, 2009)
Attorneys general from Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Kentucky and West Virginia have filed objections in federal bankruptcy court to the proposed sale of Chrysler LLC’s assets to Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Said attorneys general have stated that the proposed sale could hurt their respective states and consumers.
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has filed a lawsuit last month against Apply 2 Save Inc., a mortgage loan modification company, in Kootenai County, alleging violations of state consumer protection laws. Wasden’s office received 176 complaints from consumers in states such as Colorado, Nevada, Maryland and Texas who made advance payments of as much $1,500 to the company and received little or no services.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a complaint in Suffolk Superior Court against the owner of Pocasset Mobile Home Park, LLC, alleging that the company and its owner, Charles W. Austin, has failed to comply with state law by failing to repair and upgrade the park’s deteriorating septic system. The complaint further alleges that Austin has violated Massachusetts consumer protection laws by, despite full knowledge of the deteriorated septic system, continuing to rent lots at the park and endangering the health, safety and well-being of the residents.
Under the terms of a consent decree, Pennsylvania-based Pure Weight Loss, Inc. has paid the Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett $500,000.00, which has been distributed to more than 2,300 consumers nationwide. The decree results from the company’s closing down of more than 400 weight loss centers across the country, leaving thousands of consumers without access to weight loss products and services that they had pre-purchased.
The Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madrigan is filing a suit against YTB International and its subsidiaries, accusing the Web-based travel marketing company executives of unfairly profiting at the expense of recruits and others. Enforcing the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act, Madrigan’s office has accused the company of employing pyramid scheme practices.
After negotiation with a group of attorneys general, online classified website Craigslist agreed to remove its erotic services section. Criticism of Craigslist by law enforcement officials was amplified after a Boston murder in April that is believed to have occurred during a meeting initiated through this service.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed suit against the Federal Aviation Administration over proposed new flight paths for large planes flying out of LaGuardia and Westchester County airports. Blumenthal, joined in his suit by nine Connecticut towns, has argued that the paths would increase air and noise pollution over heavily populated areas.
Massachussetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has settled with investment bank Goldman Sachs for over unfair loans, as part of an investigation of the roles large investment banks played in the mortgage crisis. This settlement will reduce monthly payments for over 700 homeowners in the state by up to 35 percent.
Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler has filed suit to order the U.S. Department of Commerce to reverse a decision allowing the construction of the AES Sparrows Point liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline, which would adversely affect large areas of wetlands and coastlines. AES was permitted to build the terminal after appealing Maryland's original decision that the terminal was inconsistent with the state's Coastal Zone Management Act and the previous Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, overrode the decision.
After reports by The Arizona Republic on potential mismanagement of funds by a network of food bank charities, state attorney general Terry Goddard has announced he will investigate how the charities use money for salaries and expenses. "The Republic's series this week about a network of charities raises important questions," Goddard said. "They include how some charitable dollars have been spent, the paper transfer of goods that lets more than one group take credit for the same donation, and whether donors have been accurately informed about the charities' operations."
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Dallas-based Aldus Equity Partners and one of its founding principals, Saul Meyer for participation in a “pay-to-play” scandal. This is part of an ongoing criminal probe of kickbacks paid to invest its state pension fund money.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown accused subsidiaries of Wells Fargo & Co. of fraud in a lawsuit alleging the bank improperly marketed risky investments as “safe and liquid as cash” despite the February 2008 collapse of the $330 billion market for so-called auction-rate securities. While many banks have since agreed to buy back customers’ investments and pay millions in fines, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has not done so and as a result, the lawsuit is seeking to have the bank buy back $1.5 billion invested by 2,400 Californians who can't fully access their accounts as well pay fines that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a law suit against one of the largest servers of debt collection legal action notices, American Legal Process of Lynbrook, N.Y. The suit alleges that American Legal did not properly serve debtors with papers that have apprised them of legal action.
California state Attorney General, Jerry Brown has filed a suit against gas station chain TravelCenters of America to force the company to comply with California’s underground fuel storage laws. The suit comes after the Riverside Department of Environmental Health found long-standing violations that has put groundwater supplies at risk of contamination.
Shavar Jeffries, Counsel to New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, says school-zone drug laws with mandatory sentences can be unfair. In this video clip (linked above), he urges students to correct such injustices through criminal justice careers.
New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against J. Ezra Merkin, and the funds that he controls, for violating New York’s Martin Act. Merkin is alleged to have invested, without investors’ permission, more than $2.4 billion with the convicted Ponzi scheme operator, Bernard L. Madoff, in exchange for $470 million in management and incentive fees.
Attorney General Greg Abbott has charged Global Escapes, a Florida based company, with violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act as well as other business and commerce laws. Abbot is seeking restitution for some 5,000 Texas consumers who were enticed by false gift giveaways and attended sales seminars in which Global Escapes allegedly used “high-pressure sales tactics to convince customers” to purchase their over-priced “proprietary software search engine technology.”
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan introduced a new law, the Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act, which will cap hospital bills and offer significant discounts for uninsured patients in Illinois. In effect April 1, this law will make medical care more accessible and affordable—home, car and pensions cannot be used as assets to pay for medical bills.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, with help from state lawmakers, has proposed legislation to establish a joint commission with the State of New York to help protect the environmental needs of the Long Island Sound. This joint commission between Connecticut and New York will “represent businesses, ordinary citizens, environmental groups” and other stakeholders.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Codray is suing the defunct gift certificate company CertifiChecks Inc. for allegedly failing to honor its gift certificates and, in effect, violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act. After filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February, Certifichecks Inc. left consumers with unredeemable gift certificates
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six received $4.5 million in tobacco settlement funds for the state of Kansas—the largest financial recovery in legal history. Secured by the Attorney General’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit, these funds will “go directly to the Kansas Endowment for Youth Fund and help offset potential budget cuts being considered by the Legislature.”
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is seeking $3.9 million in damages and civil penalties from K.K. Bio-Science Inc. for allegedly overbilling the state for work that was never done. The owner of the now defunct company, Anita Mahajan, is closely tied with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as her husband, Amrish Mahajan was a major fundraiser.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has reached a settlement with USI Consulting Group (USICG) to pay $470,000 to Connecticut’s General Fund and to implement business reforms to address illegal compensation practices with insurers. These practices included hidden payments from The Hartford Insurance Company, The Principal Financial Services Group, Inc., and Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company in exchange for information and "last look" bidding opportunities for profitable pension plans.
When Massachusetts passed a 2006 law requiring all residents to have health insurance — or face a penalty — a new insurance market sprung up. However, health advocates and state officials are getting complaints about unscrupulous insurance merchants. This NPR audio piece, features an interview with Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, who says that 3100 consumers called her office complaining of health insurance fraud. Coakley filed suit against two companies, hoping to send a message to others.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley reached a settlement for over $238,000.00 with The Chubb Corporation resolving allegations about their improper compensation practices with brokerage firm William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, Inc. (WGA). These practices included WGA’s directing of profitable business to The Chubb Corporation in exchange for loan forgiveness.
In an ongoing investigation into health-care reimbursement rates, New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has served a five-day notice of intent to sue Excellus Health Plan. Excellus Health Plan is being sued for defrauding consumers and parties for out-of-network services.
The Texas State Attorney General’s office created a restitution program on Wednesday that will make nearly $7.5 million available to eligible mortgage customers of Countrywide Financial Corp who lost their homes to foreclosure. The program results from an ongoing investigation of Countrywide Financial Corp’s questionable lending practices.
The Connecticut Attorney General’s office is investigating the Association for Firefighters and Paramedics for possible fraudulent fundraising. While Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has said that the charity is registered in the state, he calls their activities “suspect.”
Benefit raffles held by Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego may not have been legally regulated, according to the California Department of Justice. Ronald McDonald House has stated that they will be filing the necessary paperwork.
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell has announced he will resign his office later this month in order to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. McDonnell’s chief deputy, Bill Mims, will succeed him pending confirmation by the state legislature.
Modern Healthcare reports on efforts by attorneys general across the country, including Greg Abbott of Texas, Jerry Brown of California, Mike Cox of Michigan, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Lisa Madigan of Illinois, and Lori Swanson of Minnesota, to pursue healthcare goals and protect assets within the healthcare sector.
In anticipation of the closing of Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum, the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley plans to review the terms of the sale of items in the museum’s collection, which could be worth up to $400 million. Trustees and supporters of the museum were not informed of the closing in advance.
Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has been subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is seeking testimony regarding billions of dollars in bonuses issued days before his company was bought out by Bank of America. Bank of America Chief Administrative Officer J. Steele Alphin has also been subpoenaed.
The office of the California attorney general is seeking a reversal of a 2006 ruling that banned public warnings from the state about risks related to mercury content in canned tuna.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has appointed an unnamed state prosecutor to investigate the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a transit police officer on January 1. Faced with widespread public outrage in reaction to the shooting, Brown has pledged to monitor the situation closely.
