Announcements, information & updates from
the Attorney General Alliance Members and Associates
September 1, 2023
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Please contact Alejandra Stephens for registration information at astephens@agalliance.org. |
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced "charges against two men at the top of a widespread bank fraud operation that involved impersonation of bank employees and customers, and resulted in thefts of approximately $2 million from consumers and financial institutions." |
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District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced that a major restaurant chain "will pay the District $322,400 and adopt a new, comprehensive training and workplace compliance plan to resolve allegations of District child labor law violations." |
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North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein shared online safety resources with superintendents to help teachers, principals, and school staff, as well as students, in advance of the start of the new school year. |
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that his office has charged five people as part of a scheme to defraud the Minnesota Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program out of approximately $9.5 million. To date, this is the largest Medicaid fraud prosecution charged by the Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Attorney General’s Office. |
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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced his office has “successfully secured an agreement from a Muncie real estate company to refund consumers a total of $35,000 and to cease allegedly unfair and deceptive practices.” |
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Hawai’i Attorney General Anne Lopez is “urging owners of real property in Lāhainā and Kula ZIP codes 96761, 96767, and 96790 to make formal reports of any unsolicited offers—that is, offers not asked for or requested—to purchase an interest in that property.” |
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced “a pilot program that helps law enforcement track and solve crimes in real time using live-video feeds has been extended through June 2024.” |
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is warning Floridians to be cautious of price gouging, disaster scams and fraud in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. |
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New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced a settlement resolving a lawsuit filed alleging that “Jackson Township violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) by discriminating against Orthodox Jewish residents through, among other things, the use of zoning and land use powers that made it harder for Orthodox Jews to practice their religion.” |
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Iowa Attorney General Bird has filed three lawsuits in Boone, Jones, and Marion counties “alleging contractors conducted illegal excavations, some of which damaged underground utility lines.” |
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New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with “two Long Island lawyers who allegedly illegally paid themselves more than $1.3 million from a deceased client’s trust and charitable foundation.” |
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced his office has reached a settlement with a mobile home park,, its management, owners and operators, and related entities “to resolve the State’s suit alleging that the Ooltewah park took advantage of vulnerable residents in violation of state and federal law.” |
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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced “a settlement reached between his office and Parking Revenue Recovery Services, Inc. (PRRS) after an investigation found the Aurora-based company illegally collected or attempted to collect on fines for parking that was already paid for or were incurred by another vehicle owner.” |
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South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that “the public can now receive Consumer Alerts via email from the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. The new system became operational Wednesday.” |
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced her Office of Statewide Prosecution charged two members of a criminal ring with counts of organized retail theft and grand theft. |
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced arrests and charges against four people allegedly involved in “smash-and-grab” robberies carried out at high-end retail stores in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. |
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COMBATTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
AND CHILD EXPLOITATION
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The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced a state grand jury "has voted to file criminal charges against a college student who allegedly deceived children he contacted online into providing him sexually explicit videos of themselves, then used the internet connection of his Essex County-based university to upload the videos online." |
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Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced investigators with his Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit “arrested a Rigby man on Wednesday, August 30 for alleged sexual exploitation of a child.”
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Jersey County man was found guilty after the Attorney General’s office prosecuted him for disseminating child pornography. |
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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that an individual prosecuted by his office pleaded guilty to 13 sex charges, all of them against minors. |
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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office “obtained the maximum possible sentence available under the law for an individual for sexually abusing and exploiting a minor over several years. He faces three consecutive life sentences, plus 44 years, in the Missouri Department of Corrections.” |
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OPIOIDS AND ILLICIT DRUGS |
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Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced "that enforcement actions have been taken against Blackstone Tobacco & Vape, Inc. (Blackstone Tobacco), a Blacksburg, Virginia-based store, after it allegedly sold illegal products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) without child-resistant packaging or labeling and sold THC edibles to an underage consumer in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA)." |
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Attorney General Rob Bonta announced “an innovative new partnership with the City of Fresno to tackle unlicensed, illegal commercial cannabis activities. The agreement signed today makes the city of Fresno the first in the state to participate in the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Cannabis Administrative Prosecutor Program.” |
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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced he “has successfully brought together every Indiana city, town and county to participate in a historic $508 million settlement that will bring massive relief to Hoosiers struggling with the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic.” |
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Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board plans to issue up to $23 million in opioid abatement grant awards. |
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced “the arrests of two upper-level, Allentown-based drug traffickers and the seizure of more than 11 pounds of fentanyl — nearly 165,000 doses of the deadly drug.” |
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West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced his office will feature the University High School (UHS) vs. Parkersburg South High School (PSHS) gridiron matchup as an Opioid Abuse Prevention Game of the Week. |
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Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that he “urged U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to include three Washington cities in a federal initiative aimed at combating drug-related violence and overdoses.” |
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of nine attorneys general in asking the Supreme Court of the United States to take up the case of O’Handley v. Weber.
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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that “the Colorado Department of Law has awarded $492,059 to Metropolitan State University of Denver to train students for a career in the cybersecurity field and to provide local communities with cybersecurity support.” |
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Health officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have recommended the reclassification of cannabis as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, marking a departure from its current classification as a Schedule I substance with a high-abuse-risk and no accepted medical use.
The AGA Cannabis Program will continue to monitor and advise our members as updates become available.
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FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION |
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Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley led a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general in writing to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its Center for Tobacco Products. The letter related to children and e-cigarettes in a response to a request for comments on the Center’s proposed five-year strategic plan. |
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsenled a coalition of 18 other state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. v. Montgomery County, Maryland.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Massachusetts Attorney Andrea Campbell, and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement, along with the Federal Trade Commission, with a room rental app company. |
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION |
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a 16-state coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the potential Initial Public Offering launch of an overseas retailer later this year. |
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Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief regarding “the federal government’s actions to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour for certain federal contractors.” |
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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson led an 18-state coalition in filing an amicus brief in Friends of George’s v Mulroy.
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Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a coalition of 19 states in filing an amicus brief in Hunter v US Department of Education.
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RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT |
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New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez led an effort to send a letter, signed by an additional 13 attorneys general, to Congressional leaders. The letter urges Congress “to pass the Senate-approved bipartisan amendment to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.” |
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that Rewa Zakharia, the Executive Director in his office’s Special Prosecutions Unit, was recognized by the Prosecutors Advisory Council for her excellent work. Congratulations! |
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Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark announced her office is encouraging participation in the 7th Annual Vermont Legal Community Fighting Hunger Food and Diaper Drive.
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If you are interested in other Attorney General Alliance and Conference of Western Attorneys General newsletters, follow the link below to sign up! |
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Attorney General Alliance
5050 Laguna Blvd | Ste. 112-323 | Elk Grove, CA 95758
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