Announcements, information & updates from the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
August 26, 2022
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We are excited to announce that registration is
now open for this webinar!
State Attorneys General are turning their cryptocurrency focus from discussions and dialogue to action. The AGA cybersecurity working group is comprised of Attorneys General, investigators, prosecutors and our public partners with specialized knowledge in the field. The working group sets forth the ability to coordinate actions across jurisdictions and in collaboration with the private sector. Together we lay the foundation for national anti-cybercrime efforts with effective deterrent consequences.
As part of this initiative, the Attorney General Alliance and Coinbase's Global Intelligence team are pleased to offer a 90-minute training session on cryptocurrency investigations. The training will include a high-level overview of crypto crime, as well as a primer on blockchain analysis. We will also discuss best practices for working with and requesting records from exchanges like Coinbase.
All attorney general staff and cybersecurity working group members are welcome to register for this webinar.
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As Organized Retail Crime (ORC) continues to plague our communities, the AGA ORC Working Group’s objective is to promote safety, prevention, and awareness as we develop the strategies necessary to help us combat these criminal enterprises. Investigating and prosecuting these crimes takes a combined effort. As such, the Attorney General Alliance is pleased to host the upcoming ORC Working Group Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee on October 23-24, 2022. Attorneys General and key ORC attorney general staff will discuss how to combat organized retail crime rings affecting the state attorney general community and businesses across the country. Presentations will feature law enforcement professionals that will discuss key investigative and prosecutorial methods for AG offices. Following the closed AG/AG Staff-only legal training on Monday, October 24th, the Seminar will conclude with a memorable closing dinner for all ORC Working Group members on the grounds of the Grand Ole’ Opry.
*The training portion of the seminar is only for Attorneys General and their staff on Monday, October 24th*
The registration website is now open for your immediate registration. Click on the “Register Now” button, select “Attorney General and/or Staff” as your registration type then proceed to complete the process.
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October 17-18, 2022
WAGLAC MEETING
San Diego, California
*AG/AGO Staff Only
October 23-24, 2022
ORC WORKING GROUP
Law Enforcement Training
Nashville, Tennessee
November 16-18, 2022
CANNABIS PROJECT
Las Vegas, NV
November 27-December 4, 2022
INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION
Madrid & Barcelona, Spain
December 13-16, 2022
US/MEXICO BINATIONAL SUMMIT
Los Cabos, Mexico
January 11-13, 2023
ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING SUMMIT
Park City, Utah
March 1-3, 2023
ENVIRONMENTAL & ENERGY
Stewardship Summit
Seattle, Washington
March 17-26, 2023
INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION
Poland & Israel
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April 19-21, 2023
AGA Event
TBD
June 19-22, 2023
2023 ANNUAL MEETING
Terranea Resort
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
August 9-11, 2023
AGA Event
TBD
September 20-24, 2023
INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION
TBD
October 4-6, 2023
AGA Event
TBD
November 27-December 1, 2023
INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION
TBD
June 12-15, 2024
2024 ANNUAL MEETING
The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, Colorado
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If you have any questions regarding events, please contact Ale Stephens, Director of Events at astephens@agalliance.org or 303.304.9206.
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Twenty-four Attorneys General joined together in urging SCOTUS to protect the rights of Native American children, families and communities. Generations of disastrous policies encouraged ripping Native children from their families & tribes. But the Indian Child Welfare Act aims to right past wrongs and must remain.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James applauds Google for taking steps to improve search results. After Attorney General James called on Google to address search results that led individuals seeking care to the incorrect place, the company announced that it will change its search results to be more accurate. Google will update its map and search results to label which facilities provide care and which do not. These changes will help individuals locate the reproductive health care facilities they need without being misled. Google will also be taking steps to independently verify facilities that provide care.
In June, Attorney General James urged Google to take immediate action to address Google Maps’ failure to distinguish between facilities that offer services and those that do not, which could lead individuals seeking care to unintentionally visit the wrong facility for care. Attorney General James requested that Google implement measures so that the care-related search results on Google Maps show local facilities that are confirmed to provide specific health services.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Sephora, Inc., resolving allegations that the company violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California’s first-in-the-nation landmark privacy law. After conducting an enforcement sweep of online retailers, the Attorney General alleged that Sephora failed to disclose to consumers that it was selling their personal information, and that it failed to process user requests to opt-out of sale via user-enabled global privacy controls in violation of the CCPA, and that it did not cure these violations within the 30-day period currently allowed by the CCPA. The settlement is part of ongoing efforts by the Attorney General to enforce California's comprehensive consumer privacy law that allows consumers to tell businesses to stop selling their personal information to third parties, including those signaled by the Global Privacy Control.
Sephora's arrangement with these companies constituted a sale of consumer information under the CCPA, and it triggered certain basic obligations, such as telling consumers that they are selling their information and allowing consumers to opt-out of the sale of their information. Sephora did neither. The settlement requires Sephora to pay $1.2 million in penalties and comply with important injunctive terms.
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A forty-two-state coalition led by Wisconsin secured a decision from the district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruling that the states can proceed with their antitrust litigation against the makers of Suboxone for “product hopping.” Suboxone is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone previously came in tablet form, but in 2010, its manufacturer Indivior Inc. switched from tablet to sublingual film, citing safety concerns. In the lawsuit, the state coalition alleges Indivior used illegal means to switch the Suboxone market from tablets to film while attempting to destroy the market for tablets, in order to preserve its drug monopoly.
The coalition is joined in this victory by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
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Attorneys General released the following statements regarding the White House announcement on student loan debt forgiveness. The student loan debt cancellation the White House administration announced will provide much-needed relief for thousands of student loan borrowers. Many students have a crushing debt load and either no degree because they dropped out of a program that did not work for them or a worthless degree because their for-profit schools lied to them about the value of their education and their job prospects after graduation. Others were victims of unfair and predatory loan servicing practices. This action addresses the lingering impact of harm to student borrowers. |
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich joined a 17-state coalition in sending a letter to a major financial firm about reports that one of its subsidiaries may be taking actions that have the effect of furthering the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel in its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) push.
Sustainalytics, Morningstar Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary, is a rating and research firm that publishes its findings through a system of risk ratings. Those ratings influence the investment decisions of government agencies and financial managers. Rather than focusing on investment returns and other traditional financial indicators, Sustainalytics grades companies on their purported ESG performance. The coalition asks Morningstar to respond to its questions about Sustainalytics’ actions by August 31.
Joining General Brnovich are the attorneys general from West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a multistate coalition in a comment letter supporting the U.S. Postal Service’s notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and purported commitment to purchasing a greater percentage of electric vehicles. The notice follows a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Bonta and others alleging that the Postal Service relied on a flawed environmental analysis to justify its purchase of up to 90% gas-powered vehicles in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.
In the letter, the attorneys general call on the Postal Service to expand the scope of the Supplemental EIS to address these deficiencies and to halt any further activity relating to the purchase of these vehicles until this additional review is completed and they express their support for the Postal Service’s decision to prepare a Supplemental EIS for the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles Acquisitions program. However, the attorneys general make clear that the scope of the supplemental review should be significantly expanded to address deficiencies in the Final EIS and Record of Decision. Further, no work should occur under the Postal Service’s existing contract with Oshkosh Defense until it completes this Supplemental EIS.
Attorney General Bonta, along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, is joined by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the City of New York and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, in filing the letter.
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Organized Retail Crime (ORC) is an increasingly troubling issue and is at the forefront of the interests of Attorneys General across the nation. These rings are often involved in other crimes within the community, including narcotics, money laundering and human trafficking. This is not a new fight and has cost retailers and consumers billions of dollars. Attorneys General Offices have launched units to tackle ORC in their states and retailers and eCommerce sites are spending more time and resources on preventing theft in their storefronts and online while working closely with law enforcement. These relationships are critical to the future of consumer safety. Below are recent happenings for the month of August.
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Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients and applied in a patch on the skin. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths. Clandestinely produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico. Attorneys General are seeing the devastating effects of this current surge of overdoses and abuses of Fentanyl. |
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ATTORNEY GENERAL HIGHLIGHT |
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Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the Washington State Health Care Authority announced that managed health care giant Centene will pay $19 million to Washington state. The payment resolves allegations that the Fortune 50 company overcharged the state Medicaid program for pharmacy benefit management services. The resolution is the second-largest Medicaid fraud recovery for Washington state.
The Attorney General’s Office and HCA’s Program Integrity Team began investigating pharmacy benefit managers in 2019 after a whistleblower provided information that they were failing to disclose true pharmacy benefits and services costs. Centene allegedly failed to pass on discounts it received to the state Medicaid program and inflated dispensing fees. The whistleblower later filed a separate claim against Centene.
The resolution was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Washington Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division and the Health Care Authority.
As part of the resolution, Washington recovers a total of $18,999,999.80. Like all recoveries by the Medicaid Fraud Control Division, the amount goes back to the state through the state Medicaid Fraud Penalty Account.
As part of the resolution, an additional $13 million from Centene will be paid to the federal government for the administration of Medicaid in Washington state. Centene has resolved cases with 10 other states over the same conduct.
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“Medicaid dollars are a precious resource meant to fund care for the most vulnerable among us. My office works to ensure that these dollars go where they are intended — not toward fraud.”
--Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson
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AGA Sponsor Comcast recently partnered with the Baltimore Ravens and the TODAY Show to provide Digital Harbor High School and neighboring schools in Baltimore with free laptops and a year of Internet Essentials. Learn more about their commitment to digital equity. |
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Missed our live programs? No problem! Follow the button below to visit our Virtual Seminar Library for access to all recordings.
Do you have a webinar topic suggestion? We want to hear from you! Please email ideas to Patricia Salazar at PSalazar@AGAlliance.org.
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CWAG Executive Committee
AG Alliance Co-Chairs
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Attorney General Alliance 5050 | Laguna Blvd., Ste. 112-323 | Elk Grove, CA 95758
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