eric schneiderman

Fake Architect Sentenced In ‘Vandelay Industries’ Investigation

Fake Architect Sentenced In ‘Vandelay Industries’ Investigation

If someone is a successful architect, people assume that he or she actually is an architect. Yet a man in upstate New York who drew up renderings of over 100 buildings and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments for designing commercial and residential buildings has been charged with pretending to be an architect for more than half a decade. [More]

11 States Accuse Trump Administration Of Illegally Delaying Safety Regulations For Chemical Plants

11 States Accuse Trump Administration Of Illegally Delaying Safety Regulations For Chemical Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency recently decided to put a nearly two-year delay on new rules intended to reduce the number and damage resulting from accidents at U.S. chemical plants that can result in deadly explosions, fires, and the release of poisonous gas. But the attorneys general for 11 states say the Trump administration has overstepped its authority with this decision. [More]

Steve Snodgrass

Fake Breast Cancer Charity Must Shut Down, Pay $350K To Real Charities

A purported charity called The Breast Cancer Survivors Foundation existed for six years, raising money through direct mailers and soliciting donors over the phone. It took in about $3 million per year, spinning heartwarming tales in its mailings of helping patients. This turned out to not actually be true, and those millions went to the professional fundraiser who ran the operation. [More]

12 States Say They Will Sue Trump Administration If EPA Rolls Back Vehicle Emissions Standards

12 States Say They Will Sue Trump Administration If EPA Rolls Back Vehicle Emissions Standards

The environmental fight between certain states and the Trump administration continues, with more than a dozen attorneys general putting the White House on alert that they will sue if the Environmental Protection Agency moves forward with its plan to undo automotive greenhouse gas emissions standards that the previous administration put in place. [More]

alexkerhead

AGs: Ringless Robocalls Are Still Robocalls, Shouldn’t Be Allowed

The Republican National Committee and the lobbyists at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce might think that “ringless” robocalls — automated, prerecorded phone calls that go straight to voicemail — are just fine, but the top legal advisors in several states believe the opposite. Now they’re urging the Federal Communications Commission to oppose a petition that would allow telemarketers to use them.  [More]

terrypresley

Domino’s Must Pay $480,000 In Restitution To Underpaid Employees

Last May, the Attorney General in New York State filed suit against Domino’s franchisees for underpaying their workers, and the state also included Domino’s corporate in the suit. This was controversial, since the corporate office insisted that paying restaurant employees was franchisees’ business. Now the case has been settled for $480,000, to be paid by three franchisees who own the ten restaurants that were part of the suit. [More]

Viewminder

Immigration Fraud Reports Increasing Amid Deportation Fears

Four months after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and a number of immigration advocates warned of a potential increase in immigration scams following the November election and the uncertain status of many consumers, the office says it has seen an uptick in fraudsters preying on immigrants uncertain about their status.  [More]

Photo Nut 2011

State: Time Warner Cable Defrauded Customers By Advertising Internet Speeds It Couldn’t Provide

Back in 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman launched a statewide effort to measure residents’ broadband speeds to see if they were getting the “blazing fast” internet access that the service providers advertised. Today, Schneiderman announced his office is suing New York City’s biggest broadband provider for not only failing to live up to its promises, but for allegedly knowing that many customers couldn’t possibly see the speeds that TWC promised. [More]

Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine

Airbnb Won’t Be Held Liable For Law-Breaking Listings In NYC

Back in October, the state of New York passed a new law specifically aimed at micro-hoteliers who rent out one or more New York City apartments to tourists. Airbnb immediately sued the state and the city over how the law will be enforced, and now the case has been settled. [More]

New York State Dismissed From Vacation Rental Lawsuit; NYC And Airbnb To Settle Soon

New York State Dismissed From Vacation Rental Lawsuit; NYC And Airbnb To Settle Soon

It might be only people who enjoy renting an entire apartment to vacation in New York City who remember the legal fight between the state of New York and Airbnb over a new state law. Last month, the governor signed a bill limiting rentals in New York City and imposes stiffer penalties on people who rent out entire apartments. While it’s a state law, the lawsuit has been dismissed, and it’s the city that will enforce the law. [More]

Immigrants Face Uptick Of Attempted Fraud

Immigrants Face Uptick Of Attempted Fraud

Just as when the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked four months ago on the White House’s hopes to enact large-scale immigration reforms, the recent presidential election has left millions of immigrants uncertain about their status making them potential targets for fraudsters.  [More]

Mod Betty / RetroRoadmap.com

Amazon Contractor Agrees To Pay Drivers $100K In Phantom Lunch Breaks

What if your employer deducted lunch breaks from your time sheet, but you weren’t allowed to actually take any time for lunch? That’s what New York’s attorney general says happened to employees of Cornucopia Logistics, a contractor that handles deliveries for Amazon and for its grocery delivery service in New York City. The company has settled with the state, and will pay affected workers and former workers $100,000 in back wages for the practice. [More]

FanDuel, DraftKings To Pay $12M To Resolve False Advertising Allegations In New York

FanDuel, DraftKings To Pay $12M To Resolve False Advertising Allegations In New York

Daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel each agreed to pay $6 million to resolve New York’s claims that the companies engaged in false advertising.  [More]

Trump Hotel Group Settles With NY Attorney General Over Credit Card Data Breaches

Trump Hotel Group Settles With NY Attorney General Over Credit Card Data Breaches

In the wake of two data breaches at hotels operating under the Trump Hotel Collection umbrella, the attorney general for the state of New York has reached a settlement with the company that involves a small financial penalty and promises of improved data security. [More]

Mattel, Viacom, Hasbro Accused Of Tracking Kids’ Online Behavior

Mattel, Viacom, Hasbro Accused Of Tracking Kids’ Online Behavior

When your child uses a kid-targeted website for Barbie, Dora the Explorer, Neopets, Nerf, or Nickelodeon, federal law limits what information can be collected. But an investigation by the New York state attorney general found that some of the biggest names in toys and kids’ entertainment were violating that law by collecting information from their young users without authorization, and by allowing third parties to track users’ behavior across the internet. [More]

frankieleon

New York AG: 6 Of 7 Targeted Companies Will Stop Selling Ineffective Zika Prevention Products

Well, that was quick: a day after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that the state had sent cease-and-desist letters to seven companies accused of peddling various Zika prevention products that don’t actually work, six of those businesses have agreed to stop selling and marketing the items. [More]

Just In Time For Football, New York Changes Law To Legalize DraftKings, FanDuel

Just In Time For Football, New York Changes Law To Legalize DraftKings, FanDuel

The nearly year-long legal battle between the state of New York and daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites DraftKings and FanDuel has all but come to an anticlimactic end today, with Governor Andrew “Not the one from TV” Cuomo putting his name to a new law that explicitly legalize certain DFS contests within the Empire State. [More]

Companies Behind Genie Bra, Ab Coaster & Wonderhanger Settle Allegations Of Misleading “Buy One, Get One” Deals

Companies Behind Genie Bra, Ab Coaster & Wonderhanger Settle Allegations Of Misleading “Buy One, Get One” Deals

Two marketing companies that sell a slew of products familiar to anyone who has ever been depressed enough to watch non-DVR’d basic cable at 2 a.m. — like the Genie Bra, Ab Coaster, Wonderhanger, and Total Pillow — have agreed to pay a total of nearly $900,000 to settle allegations that their ads misled shoppers about the real price of the products they were selling. [More]