A trio of smartphone health apps that claim to do things like measure your heart rate or the vitals of your unborn child have agreed to settle allegations brought by the state of New York that these products made promises they couldn’t keep. [More]
new york attorney general
Mobile Health App Makers Settle Allegations Of Misleading Marketing Claims
By 3.23.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
12 Indicted In Massive Organized Retail Theft Ring That Spanned 28 States, 20 Years
By 3.15.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
When someone mentions the takedown of an organized crime ring, the first thing to come to mind is probably something along the lines of The Sopranos. But in New York today, the Attorney General’s office announced the indictment of 12 organized crime members accused of stealing over $12 million in high-end electronics and ink cartridges from national retailers in 28 states. [More]
Feds, New York Accuse Maker Of Prevagen Dietary Supplement Of False Advertising
By 1.9.17
Prevagen is a dietary supplement that claims to help improve memory in 90 days, but both federal and state regulators are accusing the company behind Prevagen of making false and unsubstantiated claims. [More]
Jimmy John’s To Stop Using Noncompete Clauses In Employee Contracts
By 6.22.16
While the fast food industry is known for high worker turnover and employees who go from one competitor to the next, the folks at Jimmy John’s apparently thought that the skills they provided to their workers were so special that employees had to sign strict noncompete clauses preventing them from taking their sandwich-craft elsewhere, even if they were fired. Now, as part of a settlement with the New York attorney general, JJ has agreed to stop using these restrictive employment agreements. [More]
Supreme Court: Sprint Must Face $300M Lawsuit Over Uncollected Sales Tax
By 5.31.16
Four years after New York sued Sprint for allegedly failing to collect more than $100 million in sales tax in the state, the U.S. Supreme Court has shot down the wireless carrier’s effort to avoid liability. [More]
Federal & State Agencies Probing High Lead Levels In Cra-Z-Art Jewelry Kits
By 4.22.16
Under federal law, the acceptable level of lead that can be present in a product is capped at 100 parts per million. A recent investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office found 10 times that level of lead in certain children’s jewelry toys sold by national retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon, and now federal regulators have opened a probe into the crafts. [More]
Authorities Shut Down 5 Shady Debt Collectors, Secure $6.5M In Relief
By 11.4.15
The Federal Trade Commission teamed up with two states to put an end to five unscrupulous debt collection operations that illegally deceived millions of Americans. The actions, made under the “Operation Collection Protection” initiative between federal, state and local law enforcement authorities, represent $6.5 million in relief for millions of consumers. [More]
Citi To Return Additional $4.5M In Overcharged Fees To 15,000 Investment Account Holders
By 8.19.15
Last October, Citigroup agreed to return a total of $16 million to nearly 30,000 customers after an investigation by the state of New York found the company overcharged some customers advisory fees on their investment accounts. While that redress seems pretty hefty, it wasn’t enough, with the financial institution now agreeing to pay an additional $4.5 million to another 15,000 account holders. [More]
Lyft To Pay $300,000 To Resolve Claims It Illegally Operated In Some Areas Of New York
By 6.19.15
Nearly a year after the New York Attorney General’s office and state insurance regulators filed a lawsuit accusing ride-sharing app Lyft of violating state law in certain areas, the company has agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve the complaint. [More]
NY AG Probing Gap, Target & 11 Other Retailers For Possibly Illegal On-Call Scheduling Practices
By 4.13.15
Over the past several years, companies that employ hourly workers in New York have come under scrutiny for a variety of practices, including not providing reimbursement for uniforms to requiring some work be performed off the clock. Today, the state attorney general’s office began scrutinizing another practice by major retailers: the use of on-call scheduling. [More]
Credit Bureaus Agree To Revamp Practices For Handling Errors, Unpaid Medical Bills
By 3.9.15
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – the three largest companies to collect and disseminate credit information for millions of Americans – must undergo an overhaul of credit reporting practices as part of an agreement with the New York Attorney General’s Office. [More]
New York Papa John’s Franchisee Ordered To Pay Workers More Than $2M For Wage Violations
By 3.6.15
A New York Papa John’s franchisee must pay more than $2 million to workers as part of a judgment resolving charges that the company underpaid hundreds of delivery workers at five Harlem-area restaurants. [More]
Marketer Of Snuggies, Perfect Brownie Pans, Others Must Pay $8M For Allegedly Deceiving Consumers
By 3.5.15
The marketer of popular “as-seen-on-TV” products such as Snuggies, Magic Mesh door covers and Perfect Brownie Pans must pay $8 million to resolve federal and state charges it deceived consumers with promises of buy-one-get-one-free promotions and then charged exorbitant fees for processing and handling, nearly doubling the cost of the products. [More]
Feds & NY Attorney General Team Up To Sue Abusive Debt Collectors
By 2.26.15
Just like one of those action movies where a federal agent gets paired up with a small-town sheriff who knows all the bad guys in the area, the Federal Trade Commission has brought its crackdown on abusive debt collectors to New York and partnered with the Empire State’s attorney general to shut down a pair of unsavory operators. [More]
Investigation Finds Kids’ Clothes With Banned Drawstrings In N.Y. Thrift Stores
By 8.19.14
For the last decade or so, children’s clothing with drawstrings have been illegal to sell in this country. Such items still often go on the market, as our monthly Recall Roundups show, and older hand-me-downs may still have the offending strings. A recent investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office found banned kids’ clothes in the majority of thrift stores that it checked in the state. [More]
FTC Halts Debt Collection Company That Allegedly Used Illegal Tactics To Collect $8.7M
By 7.21.14
And another one bites the dust – kind of. The Federal Trade Commission, along with the New York Attorney General’s office, received an order to temporarily halt a Buffalo-based debt collection operation that allegedly used lies and threats to collect more than $8.7 million from consumers. [More]
Direct Mail Companies To Pay $25 Million For Misleading Donors About Veterans’ Charity Fundraiser
By 7.1.14
Donating to a worthy cause can provide a sense of doing something good for others, but as we’ve warned before, there’s a chance the money you’re donating isn’t making it to the actual charity. And, unfortunately, that shady tactic appears to be the case for two companies that sent solicitations on behalf of a veterans’ charity. [More]
McDonald’s Must Pay $10,000 To Employee Fired For Reporting Gas Leak
By 6.19.14
One would assume that a restaurant employee would be given a pat on the back for putting the safety of customers and workers first, but one McDonald’s employee in New York was fired for reporting a gas leak to authorities. That just doesn’t seem right, does it? Well, that’s because it wasn’t. [More]
