Multistate Actions

A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general called on Congress to require surgeon general warnings on social media platforms. The Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee co-sponsored a letter to Congress on behalf of 42 attorneys general which states that young people are facing a mental health crisis fueled, in part, by algorithm-driven social media platforms. The effort echoes claims highlighted as a part of NAAG President Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s Presidential Initiative “America’s Youth: Attorneys General Looking Out for the Next Generation.”

A bipartisan coalition of eight attorneys general and the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust complaint against RealPage, Inc., in the Middle District of North Carolina. The  enforcement action alleges that RealPage enables collusion between landlords that distorts the rental housing market for millions of Americans through its software. According to the suit, landlords who purchase the software agree to share competitively sensitive data and the software then combines the data and feeds it to an algorithm to provide daily, near real-time pricing recommendations back to landlords. The software allegedly tracks the supply of available apartments, and landlords in markets with heavy demand can use this information to keep properties off the market and drive up rents. As a result of its conduct, the USDOJ and attorneys general allege that RealPage has undermined the ability of rival revenue management software providers to compete in the market.

A fourteen-state bipartisan collation submitted a comment letter supporting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed earned wage access (EWA) app rule that would clarify that relevant federal law applies to such apps. The products, marketed to consumers to cover short-term expenses, offer consumer cash advances to be repaid on the consumer’s pay day. The states allege that the fees and costs associated with the EWA apps amount to finance charges unbeknownst to consumers.

Attorneys general from storm-battered states, including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued press releases reminding consumers of price-gouging laws and to beware of scams.

National Association of Attorneys General

Attorneys general Phil Weiser of Colorado and Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee , current co-chairs of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Antitrust Committee, have selected Elizabeth Odette of the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General as the next NAAG Multistate Antitrust Task Force Chair. The Task Force consists of antitrust attorneys in attorneys general offices across the country and coordinates multistate antitrust litigation efforts. The chair leads the Task Force in its work, organizes education and training for staff, and liaises with other professional antitrust organizations.

Individual Attorney General Actions

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit against Google LLC, YouTube LLC, XXVI Holdings, Inc., and parent company Alphabet, Inc. for allegedly engaging in deceptive and unconscionable trade practices in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA). The Complaint alleges that YouTube is a dangerous social-media product that has injured the mental and physical health of Arkansas’s youth.

California Attorney General Ron Bonta sued ExxonMobil, alleging the company deceived the public about the recyclability of plastic products. The first of its kind lawsuit claims the company engaged in a decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis. Through this lawsuit, the Attorney General seeks to compel ExxonMobil to end its alleged deceptive practices that threaten the environment and the public.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a brief in the Colorado Supreme Court arguing that Colorado’s Consumer Protection Act prohibits deceptive trade practices in residential lease agreements with illegal provisions that misrepresent the rights and obligations of tenants. The amicus brief argues the plaintiffs’ argument that tenants can take action against landlords under the CCPA “for a ‘deceptive trade practice’ by alleging that a lease contains provisions or fees that are void or illegal under Colorado landlord-tenant statutes” is correct. See Curran et al v. Home Partners Holdings LLC et al, No. 2023CV01279 (Colo. filed May 2023).

Connecticut Attorney General Willaim Tong convened a National Forum on Plastics co-hosted by the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law in late September that included attorneys general, leading academics, advocates and industry experts in New Haven. The forum seeks to advance understanding and collaboration around plastics-related environmental and health concerns and to analyze best practices and solutions. The agenda included panels on alternatives to plastics, human health and environmental impacts, and legislative and consumer initiatives to address waste management.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against an Indianapolis car dealer alleging the dealer illegally rolled back odometers on vehicles sold to unsuspecting consumers believing they were purchasing lower-mileage vehicles. The complaint alleges that KBB Auto Sales LLC rolled back odometers by a combined total of more than 14 million miles on 216 known vehicles.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Florida-based MV Realty PBC, LLC, its Minnesota LLC, and the entities’ shared officer Amanda Zachman alleging that MV Realty violated the state’s Home Solicitation Sales Act, Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and common law unlawful penalties prohibition by concealing the true nature of its “Homeowner Benefit Agreement.” The suit alleges the Agreement resulted in an unlawful lien against consumer’s residences, oppressive termination fees, and 40-year long commitment to use MV Realty as the homeowner’s realtor. MV Realty faces similar lawsuits in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The day prior to the Minnesota suit, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody prevailed in its motion for summary judgment against MV Realty. See Florida v. MV Realty, et al, No. 22-CA-9958, (Fla. Hillsborough County. Cir. Ct. Sep. 24, 2024).

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers filed four lawsuits against THC shops in Norfolk for allegedly offering mislabeled products and selling to children. The statewide campaign was launched in order to address allegedly rampant unlawful conduct in the industry, which continues to cause serious harm to Nebraska consumers, including sending adults and children to hospitals. The complaints against Smokin’ Deals, Smokes R Less, Vapor Hutt, and NP Mart accused the businesses of selling products designed to attract consumption by children while also failing to implement an age verification process.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin took action against unlicensed intrastate movers in a covert civil enforcement action.  “Operation Safe Move” resulted in the assessment of civil fines totaling $125,000 in fines against 21 alleged violators. Unlicensed movers lack the necessary skills, experience, and insurance to protect consumers’ household items, resulting in unrecoverable costs for damaged, destroyed, or lost items.

New York Attorney General Lititia James recovered a judgment of $2.6 million in restitution for small businesses affected by predatory and illegal schemes conducted by entities related to Northern Leasing. The attorney general’s action alleged that Northern Leasing and its affiliates trapped small family-owned businesses in overpriced, evergreen lease agreements for credit card processing equipment, often suing small out-of-state businesses for nonpayment in New York state courts. On September 25, the New York Supreme Court entered a judgment against Northern Leasing’s affiliates NLS Equipment Finance LLC and Leasing Expenses Company, LLC for restitution to be paid to the small businesses harmed by their fraud in addition to the over 2 million dollars in restitution collected from other affiliates.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a first-of-its-kind settlement with a healthcare generative AI technology company, Dallas-based Pieces Technologies, Inc. (Pieces). The settlement resolved allegations that Pieces mispresented the efficacy of its AI product in summarizing a patient’s record.

Federal Consumer Protection News

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced partnerships with the American Bankers Association Foundation along with other federal agencies and a private regulator to distribute an infographic to help consumers recognize and avoid so-called cryptocurrency “pig butchering” fraud. The infographic illustrates the scam’s phases—from how victims are targeted to how the scammers strip consumers of their wealth—and provides warning signs and steps to take. The CFTC, along with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and the North American Securities Administrators Association developed an investor alert that give customers a clear picture of how these scams work.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published guidance aimed at helping federal and state enforcement agencies stop banks from charging overdraft fees based on non-existent opt-in agreements. The CFPB announced that under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E, banks cannot charge overdraft fees for ATM and one-time debit card transactions unless the customer affirmatively opted in. Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-5 states that law enforcers should assume consumers have not opted into overdraft fees until the bank provides evidence to the contrary.

Reliant Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Horizon Card Services and its Chief Executive Officer, sole shareholder, and owner, Robert Kane, were named by the CPPB in a lawsuit filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The complaint alleges defendants violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act, Truth in Lending Act, and Regulation Z by marketing a general-purpose credit card that in reality could only be used in its own outlet store filled with undesirable, low-value goods and services while charging consumers illegal fees and making it unreasonably difficult for consumers to cancel memberships or obtain refunds.

The CFPB filed a proposed order seeking to permanently ban Navient from servicing federal student loans based upon its years of steering students into more costly repayment plans alleging that Navient failed student borrowers at every stage of repayment.

Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending more than $2.6 million in refunds to consumers who were deceived by online cash advance provider FloatMe’s false promises of “free money.”  The refunds  are the result of the FTC’s settlement with the FloatMe earlier this year.  The FTC alleged that FloatMe and its co-founders lured consumers with empty promises of quick and free cash advances.

The FTC announced a “Virtual Workshop on the Attention Economy” scheduled for February 25, 2025, to examine features of digital platforms designed to keep children and teens online longer and frequently returning to the platform. The event entitled: The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online, will be open to the public and no registration is required.

In Other Federal News

The Federal Communications Commission reports that T-Mobile will pay a $15.75 million dollar civil penalty as part of a settlement after investigation of T-Mobile’s data breaches in 2021, 2022, and 2023 that affected millions of customers. The consent decree requires T-Mobile to commit to spending an additional $15.75 million over the next two years to enhance its cybersecurity and compliance program.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in September, took its first enforcement action against social media engineered cryptocurrency investment scammers when it filed two complaints against five entities and three individuals in connection with alleged investment scams involving fake crypto asset trading platforms NanoBit and CoinW6. The complaints allege that defendants solicited investors via social media apps, lied to them to gain their trust and confidence, and then stole their money.

The United State Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the seizure of $6 million worth of cryptocurrency from Southeast Asia perpetrators of cryptocurrency confidence investment scams.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) announced an inquiry into the rewards programs of American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines aimed at protecting consumers from potential unfair, deceptive, or anticompetitive practices. The DOT’s letter orders these airlines to file a special report responding to questions that focus on how consumers participating in the rewards programs may be impacted by the devaluation of earned rewards, hidden or dynamic pricing, extra fees, and reduced competition and choices.

The United States Food and Drug Administration authorized the first over-the-counter  hearing aid software. Hearing Aid Feature (HAF) may be used with compatible versions of Apple AirPods Pro headphones. A clinical study of the HAF resulted in subjects perceiving results similar to those who received professional fitting of the same device. More than 30 million American adults report some degree of hearing loss.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration survey found that half a million fewer U.S. youth reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2024 compared to the previous year according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released September 5, 2024.

Charities News

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the release of an updated Guide for Charities for charitable organizations and platforms operating in California, which provides best practices. Effective June 12, 2024, charitable fundraising platforms – such as GoFundMe, Meta, and PayPal that perform, permit, or enable solicitations for charitable donations – are required to register with the state. The updated Guide for Charities is intended to help directors and officers of charities understand what is required of them under California law.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s investigation of nonprofit organization Shamisa Hopes and its owner, Mekfira Hussein, resulted in a Petition for an Order Approving Assurance of Discontinuance requiring dissolution of the organization within 30 days. The investigation found that the nonprofit corporation was run by Ms. Hussein, rather than a board of directors as required by state law, and that she allegedly misused the organization’s assets on items such as a Porsche, paying off her husband’s mortgage, as well as steering more than $4 million to a company created by her husband.  The Charities Division initiated an independent civil investigation after Mekfira and Abduljabar Hussein were indicted by a federal grand jury in 2022 on charges related to the couple’s role in $250 million dollar fraud scheme involving the improper acquisition and use of child-nutrition funds, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) announced the creation of the Karin Kunstler-Goldman Award for Excellence, recognizing excellence in the field of state charity regulation and oversight. The inaugural award, given to New York Deputy Bureau Chief of Charities Karin Kunstler-Goldman on October 9th, and thereafter to be made periodically and at the discretion of the NASCO board of directors, honors select charity regulators who demonstrate many of the qualities and achievements of the award’s namesake including, but not limited to:

• Long-term professional commitment to charity regulation;

• Success and innovation in charity regulatory practice;
• Significant contribution to the education and training of charity regulators and the nonprofit sector, in the U.S. and internationally;
• Recognition as a leader among state charity regulators; and
• Generosity of spirit and enthusiasm for the work of charity regulation and oversight.

Military & Veterans News

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced a scientific review of a possible service connection between PFAS exposure and kidney cancer among Veterans. This scientific assessment will help the VA determine if kidney cancer should be considered a presumptive service-connected condition for Veterans exposed to PFAS. When a condition is considered presumptive, eligible Veterans do not need to prove that their service caused their disease in order to receive benefits for it; instead, if they served in certain locations during certain time periods, the VA automatically presumes that exposure during military service caused the disease and provides benefits accordingly.

The VA announced that it will award $5 million through the Veteran and Spouse Transitional Assistance Grant Program to organizations that provide employment-based resources and tools to recently separated members of the Armed Forces and their spouses.

The VA announced that Emergency VA tele-health care is now available nationwide to Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare.