State Attorneys General

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On June 6, New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James filed suit against NovaTech Advisors, LLC, AWS Mining Pty Ltd., and several other entities, alleging the defendants orchestrated two consecutive, fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes that largely targeted Haitian nationals. Defendants Cynthia Petion and Eddy Petion allegedly defrauded investors of tens of millions of dollars by promising large returns in WhatsApp group chats and social media advertisements in Haitian creole by appealing to religious beliefs. The action highlights the regulation-by-enforcement nature of the cryptocurrency industry, and underscores the need for comprehensive, consistent regulation.

California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta, along with a coalition of AGs, has submitted a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding a proposed final rule. This rule aims to establish a registry of nonbank entities that have been subject to orders related to consumer protection law violations.

Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell announced a $4 million settlement with Next Step Healthcare, LLC (Next Step), a Massachusetts-based long-term care management company, in a deal that the AG described as the largest-ever nursing home settlement in Massachusetts. According to the AG’s announcement, Next Step operates 16 nursing homes in Massachusetts.

Anticompetitive conduct remains a priority for state attorneys general (AGs), as evidenced by a preliminary settlement between the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and an 11-state coalition of AGs, including Virginia, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia recently entered. Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice also signed the proposed settlement agreement. Filed in the Northern District of West Virginia, the antitrust lawsuit challenged the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule. The proposed settlement agreement is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge John Bailey, who previously granted a preliminary injunction, preventing the NCAA from enforcing the transfer rule during the spring sports season.

The Basics

Last week, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that, effective January 1, 2025, Virginia will exit a California-led electric vehicle (EV) mandate and will instead comply with less stringent federal guidelines. The announcement followed Attorney General (AG) Jason Miyares’ issuance of an official advisory opinion concluding, as a matter of law, that Virginia is not beholden to broad, recently passed mandates adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which were also set to take effect at the start of the new year.

California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta has issued two petitions to enforce an investigative subpoena against the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC). PLASTICS lobbies on behalf of entities involved in the plastics supply chain. ACC is a trade association that represents chemical companies who create plastic products. The AG’s petition accuses PLASTICS and ACC of failing to comply with the AG’s prior subpoenas by providing insufficient responses and failing to provide requested documents. In response, PLASTICS and ACC filed lawsuits against the AG in Washington, D.C.

On June 3, the U.S. Treasury Department filed a reply in its 11th Circuit litigation[1] against the National Small Business Association regarding the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Of late, the Treasury Department has faced additional pressure and scrutiny, with 22 states filing a joint amicus brief last month, asserting that the CTA displaces state authority and would economically harm residents.

Tennessee and Mississippi attorney generals (AG), joined by 13 other states, filed a multistate lawsuit in the Southern District of Mississippi. The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) attempt to expand the breadth of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) antidiscrimination provision, known as Section 1557. This section prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. HHS’ new rule, which is scheduled to take effect on July 5, extends the definition of sex to encompass gender identity. The AGs argue that HHS’ expansion of the ACA provision will have undesirable effects on the medical industry. They claim that the promulgation of this new rule is also unconstitutional and interferes with states’ reserved powers.

On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton announced the creation of a team dedicated solely to the prosecution and enforcement of Texas’ privacy laws. The team will focus on handling cases under at least seven different laws, including the state’s relatively new comprehensive consumer privacy law, and will be part of the office’s Consumer Protection Division. In his announcement, the AG touts the team as the largest such unit in the U.S., and one that will aggressively enforce the state’s privacy laws.