State AG Monitor

State AGs in the News

By Bernard Nash , Divonne Smoyer , and Ann-Marie Luciano on Posted in Consumer Protection, Medicaid Fraud, Mortgages/Foreclosures, Securities

Consumer Protection

New York and Connecticut AGs Investigate Citigroup Over Alleged Libor Manipulation

  • According to Citigroup Inc.’s quarterly earnings filing 10-Q  with the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York AG Eric Schneiderman and Connecticut AG George Jepsen have sent requests for documents and information regarding alleged manipulation of the interbank offered interest rates.
  • As previously reported, State AGs have begun investigating the alleged manipulation of the London interbank offered rate (Libor) following Barclay’s $453 million settlement with U.S. and British authorities over alleged interest rate manipulation in June.

Indiana AG Reaches Multiple Settlements Over Violations of Do Not Call Law

  • Indiana AG Greg Zoeller announced this week that his office has obtained settlements with six companies totaling $83,000 in total payments for penalties and attorneys’ fees based on alleged violations of the state’s Do Not Call Law.
  • The state’s settlement with one of the companies, Reply4Money.com, was the state’s first action against a company accused of texting consumers on the Do Not Call registry. The state law was amended in 2011 to provide that a “telephone sales call” includes a text message sent to a wireless telephone number.

Pennsylvania AG Sues Over Use of Foreign Steel in Public Works Projects

  • Pennsylvania AG Linda Kelly recently announced that her office has filed a lawsuit against several companies and individuals for allegedly installing foreign steel products in public work projects in violation of the state Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection law, the Pennsylvania Steel Products Procurement Act, and the Pennsylvania Corrupt Organizations Act.
  • The lawsuit alleges that the companies used lower-cost foreign steel in various public works projects, which allowed the companies to unfairly compete against other contractors to obtain the work.

Medicaid Fraud

Idaho AG Obtains $828,500 in Settlement with Sanofi-Aventis Over Alleged AWP Overpricing

  • Idaho AG Lawrence Wasden announced that his office has obtained a settlement with Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC requiring the prescription drug manufacturer to pay $828,500 in a settlement to resolve claims relating to alleged AWP inflation.
  • The settlement is designed to reimburse taxpayers for the additional money Idaho Medicaid paid for prescription drugs as a result of the alleged AWP inflation. The settlement will be shared among the state’s General Fund, Cooperative Welfare Fund, and Consumer Protection Account.

Mortgages/Foreclosures

Florida AG Obtains Settlement Money to Support Legal Aid Program on Foreclosures

  • Florida AG Pam Bondi announced that her office has reached a settlement with service processing firm ProVest, LLC, who has agreed to pay $462,500 to the Florida Bar Foundation to resolve allegations that the company improperly served process in foreclosure cases filed in courts throughout Florida.
  • The settlement payment will allow the Florida Bar Foundation to continue a legal aid program that had been set up to assist low-income individuals facing foreclosure.

Securities

SEC Investigation into Sprint-Nextel’s Tax Collection Practices Follows NY AG Lawsuit

  • Last week Sprint-Nextel Corp. announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a formal investigation into the company’s collection of sales taxes following New York AG Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit against the company filed in April.
  • The New York AG lawsuit, which seeks $300 million in damages, alleges that Sprint-Nextel committed tax fraud by deliberately not collecting or paying millions of dollars of taxes for its mobile telephone services. The lawsuit is the first suit to be filed under New York’s recently-amended False Claims Act, which allows the government to sue contractors for tax fraud.