On October 25, Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Michelle Henry announced a court order requiring the pastor and founder of Peniel Christian Fellowship International to pay $305,704 in restitution for allegedly misusing ministry funds for personal expenses. The AG took action alleging that charitable donations to the church were diverted into the pastor’s personal accounts to pay for rent, vehicles, and other private expenses.
UPDATED AS OF: 11:05 a.m. ET
Of the 43 elected state AGs, 10 states held elections in 2024. Below are the current results of the elections for each of the 10 races. These elections have resulted in new attorneys general in North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia.
On October 29, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state’s Division on Civil Rights (DCR) released a report detailing the findings of a multi-year investigation into Republic First Bank (Republic) and its alleged mortgage redlining practices. According to the report, the investigation revealed that Republic engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining against Black, Hispanic, and Asian communities in New Jersey, in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
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The interplay between the unintentional federal legalization of intoxicating hemp-derived products under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) and state regulatory frameworks is increasingly testing the limits of jurisdictional boundaries, as shown in a recent decision remanding a Connecticut consumer protection case against RZ Smoke, Inc. back to the Connecticut Superior Court.
On October 18, North Carolina Attorney General (AG) Josh Stein filed a complaint against timeshare company Club Exploria, LLC, for allegedly using robocall machines to make unsolicited calls to consumers.
A federal district judge in Massachusetts entered a nearly $51 million judgment against Commonwealth Equity Group LLC (d/b/a Key Credit Repair) and its CEO after granting summary judgment in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Campbell. The lawsuit alleged that the company violated federal and state consumer protection and telemarketing laws. The company and CEO were found jointly liable for $31.7 million in restitution and each ordered to pay more than $19 million in penalties.
On October 15, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that his office reached a $27 million settlement with Precision Toxicology to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to government health programs for medically unnecessary urine drug tests and provided illegal kickbacks to physicians.
On October 21, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a settlement with two debt settlement companies, Financial Solutions Group and Accelerated Debt Settlement.
Illinois Attorney General (AG) Kwame Raoul entered a settlement with Teleperformance Colombia SAS, TPUSA Inc., and Teleperformance SE (collectively, Teleperformance). The agreement resolves allegations that Teleperformance engaged in deceptive marketing practices in violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Telephone Solicitations Act.
In September, Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Michelle Henry filed a lawsuit against Pittsburgh-based Digital Dream Labs, Inc., and its CEO, Harold Jacob Hanchar, individually and in his capacity as CEO. In the lawsuit, Henry brings causes of action under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. § 201-1, et seq., and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Mail Order Rule in connection with to the company’s sale of certain edtech tools and small robots — namely, the Vector 2.0, Cozmo 2.0, and Butter Robot product lines.