Announcements, information & updates from the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
December 2, 2022
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The Attorney General Alliance is pleased to host the
Binational US/Mexico Attorney General Summit
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The Summit will provide a forum for state Attorneys General from the
United States and Mexico, as well as federal agencies and private sector partners
to share experiences and advances in border issues.
The US/Mexico Binational Attorney General Summit
will commence with an opening dinner on December 13th
and will follow with substantive programming on December 14-15th.
We hope you will join us for a collaborative discussion
at the state, national and binational levels on a diverse array of valuable topics.
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The Attorney General Alliance
is honored to host
the upcoming global anti-human trafficking summit
that will convene experts from around the world in combating modern-day slavery.
Leaders across multiple industries will be speaking, moderating, and attending this historic summit to address one of the world’s most pressing and serious human rights violations. Survivors will sit with policymakers, law enforcement officers, regulators, prosecutors, judges, and technology experts who will bring their experience and perspectives to the discussion.
The Summit will commence with an opening dinner on January 11th
and will follow with substantive programming on January 12th & 13th.
For registration information, please email
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, along with the Federal Trade Commission and five other impacted states, recently announced settlements to resolve an investigation into an alleged deceptive ad campaign involving allegedly false endorsements of a smartphone. Under the terms of the settlements, both companies involved will pay a total of $9.4 million to the impacted states, including over $1.17 million to the State of Georgia.
The Complaint alleges that the ad campaign violated the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act, as it deceived consumers about the endorser’s actual experience using the product.
Joining Attorney General Carr and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who together led the resolutions, are the attorneys general of the other impacted states of Arizona, California, Illinois, and New York. Texas also joined the group in its settlement.
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“Not only are false advertising claims unlawful, but they also prevent consumers from making informed decisions about the products and services they purchase. Any business that purposefully employs deceptive practices to mislead Georgians will be held accountable for their actions.”
--Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr
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“Google tried to take shortcuts in advertising its products, and now it’s paying the price. Asking DJs to share personal experiences about a product they had not used is misleading – and a violation of state consumer protection laws. As Attorney General, I won’t stand by when consumers spend their hard-earned money based on a lie.”
--California Attorney General Rob Bonta
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“Google and iHeartMedia misled customers with fabricated advertisements. I am committed to seeking enforcement against businesses and others who violate the law to take advantage of Illinois consumers.”
--Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul
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“Consumers expect radio advertisements to be truthful and transparent about products, not misleading with fake endorsements. Today’s settlement holds Google and iHeart accountable for this deceptive ad campaign and ensures compliance with state and federal law moving forward.”
--Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy
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“Google and iHeartMedia knowingly misled the public through inaccurate ads to turn a profit. False advertising is a fraud against the public. Companies big and small have a responsibility to be honest about their products and follow the law, there are no exceptions. Consumers deserve to know the truth about products before making any purchases. My office will not tolerate misleading claims, and outright lies from advertisers, and we will hold them accountable.”
-- New York Attorney General Leticia James
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron led a coalition of nine attorneys general in sending a letter to Dividend Solar Finance, GoodLeap, Cross Riverbank, Sunlight Financial, and Solar Mosaic urging these solar lending companies to suspend the payment obligations of Pink Energy customers until the completion of the coalition’s investigation into possible consumer protection law violations.
Attorney General Cameron was joined by attorneys general from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia in sending the letter.
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“Kentuckians should be able to trust companies to deliver the products they claim to offer," said Attorney General Cameron. "We sent this letter to five solar lending companies to protect the financial welfare of Kentucky customers of Pink Energy while we address allegations of deceptive business practices.”
--Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
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"Consumers who financed solar power systems from Pink energy did so with the desire to move away from a dependence on fossil fuels and make a financially prudent decision at the same time.. I stand firmly with my colleagues in asking the solar lending companies that provided the financing through Pink Energy to suspend loan payment obligations and interest for affected customers until the investigations are complete."
--Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
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"Pink Energy failed to deliver what it promised customers, and now these customers are on the hook for payments for a system that doesn't work. As I continue my investigation into Pink Energy, I'm asking these lenders to do the right thing and help lessen some of the financial burdens that Pink Energy customers are facing"
--North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein
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“Pink Energy ripped off consumers and is hiding behind bankruptcy,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “Lenders who want the solar power sector to grow should help consumers obtain relief now, while Pink Energy’s bankruptcy process continues. Consumers made good-faith choices to heat and power their homes and should not be trapped in loans for a product that wasn’t delivered.”
--Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro
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“This office is committed to protecting Tennessee consumers from unlawful and illegitimate business practices,” said General Skrmetti. “Companies that cheat customers through false representations should and will be held accountable. I’m proud of our Consumer Protection team’s diligence in investigating this matter.”
--Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti
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“Many Virginians were caught off-guard by Pink Energy’s sudden bankruptcy. As a result, affected consumers are stuck paying loans on ineffective or unusable solar panels in addition to their electric bill. By joining this coalition, we’re trying to ease the strain on Virginians’ wallets while actively investigating the situation."
-- Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares
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The opioid crisis continues to plague the country and the attorneys general have actively cooperated in combatting the opioid epidemic through advocacy, investigation, and holding opioid manufacturers, distributors, and other related parties accountable for their actions in fueling the epidemic. The attorneys general community targeted and assisted in targeting opioid makers and distributors in hopes of recouping billions in tax dollars spent dealing with the opioid epidemic, filing lawsuits against the companies that aided in the cause the opioid crisis. In addition, the attorneys general are working together to take advantage of resources to continue with investigations, litigation, and settlements. Please see recent settlements and press releases from our member states. |
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CONSUMER PROTECTION: BLACK FRIDAY, CYBER MONDAY & GIVING TUESDAY |
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Attorneys General from across the country are working hard to keep consumers in their states safe and informed on scams and other information for this year's Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. Below are press releases and information released this holiday season. We appreciate the effort and hard work that the Attorneys General, their offices, and staff members put into keeping consumers safe and well-informed on up-to-date news and information. |
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AGA Sponsor the American Gaming Association recently released a research report. This report, commissioned by the American Gaming Association and prepared by The Innovation Group, quantifies for the first time the potential size of the illegal and unregulated gaming market across three verticals: sports betting, iCasinos (which we refer to as iGaming) and grey market slots, including those commonly referred to as “skill machines.”
The legal gaming industry is among the most highly regulated industries in America. Whether it is financial solvency and other licensing requirements, know your customer or anti-money laundering regulations, legal gaming operators and suppliers comply with thousands of laws and regulations designed to ensure consumer protections and confidence in the gaming market.
Illegal and unregulated gambling operators do not follow any of these standards, which exposes consumers to the severe risk and undermines the economic and tax contributions of the legal gaming industry. The machines that are the subject of the research are unregulated devices that are found in bars, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, etc, which have exploded over the last several years. Attached also is a federal complaint from Parx, which outlines the conspiratorial efforts to evade the law for the machines.
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AGA Sponsor CVS Health, amidst a busy holiday shopping season and as part of an ongoing commitment to support law enforcement and help build safer communities, announced the installation of time delay safe technology in 800 CVS Pharmacy locations. With this latest installation of time delay safes, CVS Health has now implemented the innovative technology in 45 states.
The safes are anticipated to help prevent pharmacy robberies and the potential for associated diversion of controlled substance medications — including opioid medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone — by electronically delaying the time it takes for pharmacy employees to open the safe. In addition, the safes are anticipated to benefit the safety and well-being of CVS Pharmacy patients, customers and employees. The company’s rollout of time delay safe technology is in support of partnerships with local and state law enforcement and the retail community to fight back against escalating organized retail crime.
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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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