Announcements, information & updates from the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
October 14, 2022
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Attorney General Todd Rokita proudly observes Breast Cancer Awareness Month, bringing attention to this serious Cancer that inflicts 1 in 8 women in the US. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month nationwide. It is vital that women stay up to date with their screenings. For more information on women's health, click on the link below.
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH |
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Guam Attorney General Leevin Camacho supports victims of domestic and family violence through the recent launch of the Lethality Assessment Program which gives police officers one more tool to recognize and immediately remove victims and their children from an escalating situation.
The Guam Office of the Attorney General is commited to help crime victims and their families by providing information on victims’ rights and protections, the criminal justice process, referrals for counseling, emergency assistance and safety planning.
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For the eighth consecutive year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Agency employees will participate in the Domestic Violence Awareness Month “Go Purple Day.” On Thursday, October 20th, Texas Office of the Attorney General employees are encouraged to wear purple in support of domestic violence survivors and to raise awareness of and take a stand against domestic violence.
Domestic violence impacts millions of Texans each year. But it can be prevented. Friends, families, co-workers, and institutions all contribute to transforming our communities. Attorney General Paxton and the Office of the Attorney General will continue to work and bring awareness to this issue as they continue to serve Texas families.
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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson led participants through the 25th annual Silent Witness Domestic Violence ceremony that was held at the South Carolina State Capitol Complex in Columbia.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month meant to help bring more attention to a year-round problem that is generational and widespread, keeping the courts, victim’s advocates and law enforcement busy working to deescalate volatile family issues.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime Division secure punishment for human trafficker. Joylette Blanton, 30, of Sherman, Texas, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for Compelling Prostitution of a Minor and Trafficking of a Person, pursuant to a plea agreement with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office.
Following law enforcement receiving notification of a child victim being advertised on an escort site, the investigation led to Blanton’s residence in Sherman. After securing arrest warrants, both Blanton and her co-defendant, Robert Franklin, were found and arrested at their apartment complex. It was revealed that Blanton was housing the victim and transporting her to perform sexual acts. The victim was later found and returned to her guardians. Co-defendant Robert Franklin is currently in the Fannin County Jail with pending federal narcotics charges and has a pending indictment in the 15th District Court for trafficking of persons.
Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, the U.S. Marshal Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force, and investigators and prosecutors with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office were also involved in securing this conviction.
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that action by his Special Prosecutions Unit resulted in the indictment of Jason Marley, 51, of Boone County for human trafficking, drug possession, and forgery.
A Boone County Grand Jury indicted Marley on one count of Human Trafficking-Commercial Sexual Activity/Minor, two counts of Human Trafficking-Commercial Sexual Activity, one count of Unlawful Transaction with a Minor First Degree-Controlled Substance, 15 counts of Forgery Second Degree, and one count of Possession Controlled Substance First Degree.
According to the indictment, Marley subjected two individuals to sex trafficking. One was trafficked as a minor and an adult. The other individual was trafficked as an adult. He was also indicted for the unlawful possession of methamphetamine, knowingly inducing a minor to engage in illegal activity involving a controlled substance, and forgery.
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HEALTH CARE DISCRIMINATION |
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to fight health care discrimination. The brief supports a group of individuals or parents of individuals who have been denied coverage for gender-affirming care under the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees. It was filed in Kadel v. Folwell, a case pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of state attorneys general demanding U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland respect the First Amendment rights.
The thirteen attorneys general write in response to a letter to Garland from several medical organizations which called for investigations and prosecution of those who criticize the medical establishment’s current treatment of adolescent gender issues.
The coalition of AGs emphatically agrees that anyone engaged in violent crime or threats of violence should be prosecuted by the appropriate authorities but is equally adamant that the federal government cannot investigate or prosecute critics for their speech.
Joining Tennessee in the letter are the attorneys general from the following states: Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.
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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced his office recovered $2.9 million to settle allegations that a Northeast Indiana hospital network overbilled Indiana Medicaid between January 2017 and March 2021. The overbilling resulted from the usage of improper revenue codes submitted to Medicaid for certain blood-clotting tests performed on patients at several hospital locations operated by Parkview Health System.
Attorney General Rokita thanked members of his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their work on this case. On behalf of Hoosiers, Attorney General Rokita and his team have now recovered more than $429 million since he took office in January 2021. That sum represents the work of four divisions: Complex Litigation; Consumer Protection; Litigation; and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
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North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein reached a $3,653,858 settlement with Radeas, LLC, a South Carolina clinical laboratory company headquartered in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The settlement resolves allegations that Radeas submitted false claims for some urine drug tests to the North Carolina Medicaid program. Funds from the settlement will go to reimburse the Medicaid program and to North Carolina schools.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Division investigates and prosecutes health care providers that defraud the Medicaid program, patient abuse of Medicaid recipients, patient abuse of any patient in facilities that receive Medicaid funding, and misappropriation of any patients’ private funds in nursing homes that receive Medicaid funding. To date, the Medicaid Investigations Division has recovered more than $1 billion in restitution and penalties for North Carolina.
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Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor led a coalition of 17 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court supporting small business owners’ First Amendment right to free speech and religious freedom.
Joining Attorney General O’Connor are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
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AGA Sponsor Diageo North America has established a new partnership with Miami Dade College committing $1M that will fund a permanent endowment supporting access to deserving students in underrepresented communities.
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The Attorney General Alliance Africa Partnership is a premier international rule of law exchange, facilitating dialogue, education, and partnerships across national borders between the state Attorney General community and counterparts in ten countries across the African Continent.
This week the AGA Africa Partnership kicked off its international Legal Mentorship Exchange program in partnership between the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Ghana. Over the next six weeks, the D.C. AGO will host a cohort of prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice for an in-person legal training program.
Through the Legal Mentorship Exchange, participants will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on training throughout the litigation process including brief writing, discovery, and courtroom advocacy, while building bridges across cultures and national boundaries.
For more information on the program and how your Office or organization can participate in future International Legal Exchange Programs, please contact Austin Bernstein at abernstein@agalliance.org.
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The Attorney General Alliance - Africa Partnership would like to extend its gratitude to Attorney General Karl Racine and his entire staff for their hospitality and to the Ghanaian Ministry of Justice for identifying the AGA AP as a meaningful opportunity to increase capacity building and rule-of-law training. |
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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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