State AG Monitor

State AGs in the News

By Bernard Nash , Divonne Smoyer , and Ann-Marie Luciano on Posted in Antitrust, Consumer Protection, For-Profit Colleges

Antitrust

TD Ameritrade Settles Multistate Investigation into Retail Securities Brokerage Industry

  • TD Ameritrade recently settled a multistate investigation with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster regarding alleged potentially collusive conduct among several retail securities brokers and firms that assist the brokers in executing their orders on an exchange.
  • In exchange for the AGs closing their investigation, TD Ameritrade agreed to cooperate and to create and implement an antitrust compliance policy and training program for its employees.

Consumer Protection

Missouri AG Sues Telemarketers Soliciting Vacation Packages for Violations of Missouri No-Call Law

  • Last week Missouri AG Chris Koster announced that his office has sued Branson Premier Travel, L.L.C., d/b/a Ozark Mountain Vacation Services, Branson Travel & Cruise, L.L.C., d/b/a Knasel Marketing Plus Contact Center, Super Market Merchandising and Supply, Inc., and the companies’ owner for violation of Missouri’s no-call law.
  • The lawsuit is based on allegations that the three companies contacted consumers in order to sell vacation packages as well as other products and services.

Florida AG Announces Refunds for Consumers Misled Into Subscriptions for Online Services

  • Florida AG Pam Bondi recently announced that up to $2 million dollars is available in restitution to consumers who were billed for subscriptions to online music, video, and games services (such as Rhapsody, Superpass, and Gamepass) without their consent as part of an agreement with RealNetworks, Inc.
  • The refunds are being made to consumers based on allegations that these websites failed to disclose that subscribers would be charged after an initial free trial period and utilized pre-checked consent boxes to automatically sign consumers up for the services.

Illinois AG Settles With Debt Collection Company

  • Illinois AG Lisa Madigan recently announced that her office and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation have entered into a settlement agreement with Chicago-based law firm Legal Helpers Debt Resolution LLC over allegations that the firm unlawfully charged consumers upfront fees to provide debt settlement services.
  • As part of the settlement, the firm will pay $2.1 million in restitution for Illinois residents who paid for debt settlement services but failed to receive real debt reduction, and it will agree to no longer accept any new Illinois customers.

For-Profit Colleges

20 State AGs Reach Multistate Settlement with QuinStreet, Inc. over Alleged Deceptive Targeting of Military Personnel

  • 20 AGs entered into a settlement agreement with QuinStreet, Inc. over allegations that it used GIBill.com and several other websites to target military personnel to the company’s mostly for-profit college clients by giving the appearance that the sites were affiliated with the U.S. military or government.
  • Under the terms of the settlement, QuinStreet, Inc. will pay $2.5 million to 20 states and must relinquish control and ownership of the GIBill.com domain to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.