State AGs in the News

HOT NEWS

Attorney General Bill Sorrell Wins Primary; 10 Attorney General Races Set for November

• On Tuesday, incumbent Attorney General Bill Sorrell defeated challenger T.J. Donovan, Chittenden County State’s Attorney, by approximately 51% to 49%, with 99% of the votes counted.
• There are nine other Attorney General races this November (Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia), only one of which is unopposed (North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper’s election).

Attorneys General Featured in Key Speaking Roles at Republican National Convention

At the Republican National Convention this week in Tampa, FL, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens were featured speakers as part of Wednesday’s primetime schedule.

Consumer Protection

Illinois Attorney General Reaches Settlement with Autism Charity Over Alleged Donation Scam

• Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently announced that her office filed a lawsuit and reached a settlement with an Illinois resident, Lea Kaydus, and her organization, Animals for Autism, based on allegations that she solicited donations for service dogs that were never provided.
• The lawsuit alleges that Kaydus violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and Solicitation for Charity Act by soliciting and receiving donations from consumers for specially trained service dogs that were never provided to any of the donating families. As part of the settlement Kaydus must provide restitution and agree to comply with state laws.

Missouri Attorney General Obtains Settlement with Telemarketer

• Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster recently announced that his office has reached a settlement with Avid Advertising and its owner over allegations that the company improperly called consumers on the no-call list.
• The underlying lawsuit alleges that Avid Advertising provided technology to another company, AuthentiSource Corporation of California, to display the name “Diabetic Group” on caller IDs and to display false phone numbers in order to avoid detection from law enforcement when calling consumers on the no-call list. AuthentiSource and its owner remain defendants on the lawsuit.

Indiana Attorney General Investigates BP Gasoline Recall

• Last week, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that his office is investigating a BP gasoline recall as a result of consumer complaints about alleged car problems from use of the tainted gasoline.
• BP recently issued a recall of its regular grade gasoline due to a potential 2.1 million gallons of gasoline containing a “higher than normal level of polymeric residue.”

Medicaid Fraud

California Attorney General Obtains $323 Million Settlement Over Alleged Medi-Cal Overpayments

• California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that her office has obtained an approximate $323 million settlement with SCAN Health Plan, Senior Care Action Network, and Scan Group (SCAN), based on alleged overpayments by Medi-Cal and Medicaid.
• The settlement, which is reported to be the largest Medi-Cal recovery in the state’s history, is based on allegations that SCAN failed to provide required financial information to the California Department of Health Care Services, which allegedly impaired the department from revising capitation rates for SCAN.

Mortgages/Foreclosures

Massachusetts Attorney General Warns Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac About New Massachusetts Loan Modification Law

• Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week that she sent a letter to the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (which manages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to inform him that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be required to offer commercially reasonable loan modifications under a new Massachusetts law, An Act to Prevent Unnecessary and Unreasonable Foreclosures, M.G.L. c. 244 § 35A.
• Recently, the FHFA announced that it would not provide principal forgiveness to borrowers.  The Attorney General’s letter urges FHFA to use principal loan forgiveness, as well as other measures, to help borrowers avoid unnecessary foreclosures.

Pharmaceuticals

South Carolina Attorney General Announces Settlement with AstraZeneca

• Last week, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson reached a settlement with AstraZeneca for $26 million based on allegations that the pharmaceutical company misled consumers about the side effects of its anti-psychotic drug Seroquel.
• The settlement resolves claims that the company violated the state’s Unfair Trade Practices by misleading consumers on the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, weight gain, and other serious health risks associated with Seroquel.