New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against SmartBuy and a group of related companies that allegedly “scammed members of the military” by selling them electronics and other products at markups of up to 325% of the original retail prices, and then “financed the sales” illegally through undisclosed credit lines linked to the soldiers’ bank accounts. According to the AG, the company aggressively targeted members of the military, and “salespeople were trained to specifically seek out people in uniform and people with military-style haircuts.” [More]
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Cuomo: Banks May Have Misled Raters On Mortgage Securities
By 5.13.10
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has opened an investigation of eight major banks, to find out whether they gave misleading data to rating agencies to pump up the ranking of mortgage-backed securities. The companies in the crosshairs are Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Crédit Agricole and Merrill Lynch (aka Bank of America). [More]
Citibank Postpones New Checking Account Fees For Newer Customers
By 2.2.10
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo got Citibank to agree not to implement its new monthly fees on formerly free checking accounts, at least for some customers. If you signed up for one of Citibank’s EZ Checking or Access Checking accounts between January 1, 2009 and November 5, 2009, the new monthly service charge will be waived until this time next year. If you’re one of those customers, there’s nothing you have to do–you’ll get a notice in the mail from Citibank. [More]
Homeless Charity Revealed As A Fraud
By 11.24.09
If you live anywhere in the NYC area, you’ve probably seen a “United Homeless Organization” table on the sidewalk, staffed by a volunteer who looks homeless himself. (If you don’t live here, imagine a year-round, homeless Salvation Army Santa.) If you thought the set-ups looked a little sketchy, you were right: the UHO is a “sham,” according to NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. [More]
Get Your Piece Of The Dell Fraud Settlement
By 9.18.09
Inside: Video – Cuomo and plaintiff Cary Lou Canfield lay down the law at Consumers Union earlier this week, and more info on getting some bucks from Dell.
Bank Of America Board Members Subpoenaed
By 9.18.09
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office is gathering information in order to file fraud charges against some BoA executives over what they knew, and what they hid, when they acquired Merrill Lynch & Co. a year ago. Earlier this week, his office subpoenaed 5 board members to find out “what they knew regarding the mounting losses and bonus payments at Merrill before the deal closed on Jan. 1 and what role they played in deciding whether to disclose that information to shareholders,” according to the Associated Press.
AG Cuomo: Dell To Pay $4 Million For "Defrauding NY Customers"
By 9.15.09
If you live in New York State and purchased a computer from Dell using a Dell-financed “no interest loan,” today may be your lucky day, dude. Based on a settlement with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the computer company will pay $4 million “in restitution, penalties and costs to resolve charges of fraudulent and deceptive business practices that scammed consumers across New York State.”
Plastic Surgery Company Agrees To Pay $300,000 For Fake Customer Reviews
By 7.15.09
Over a year ago, we wrote about Lifestyle Lift and its attempts to astroturf a customer review website (while simultaneously suing that website for trademark infringement, naturally). But then they caught the attention of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office, and now they’ve agreed to pay $300,000 and will stop publishing fake reviews online.
AIG Says It Will Try Harder To Cut Costs, Begins By Canceling $10 Million Severance Package
By 10.17.08
AIG has been repeatedly called on the carpet over the past week or so for indefensible “business as usual” expenditures—a lavish corporate retreat, an executive hunting trip, and severance packages costing tens of millions of dollars. Now, after a meeting with NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, they’ve announced they’ll start trying harder to monitor and stomp out unnecessary expenses.
