In a Year in Review report which highlighted key enforcement and other actions, New York Attorney General Letitia James cited several initiatives concerning consumer protection and financial crimes.

Among them, the Office:

  • charged Equifax and Dunkin' Donuts in connection with data breaches;

  • introduced the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security ("SHIELD") Act, in order to strengthen data security and consumer privacy protections;

  • sued Google and YouTube for illegally tracking and collecting children's personal information (leading to a $170 million national settlement);

  • led a multistate coalition to block the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint;

  • convicted a former Wall Street stockbroker for stealing from investors in a foreign currency trading scheme;

  • sued an operator of cryptocurrency platforms for virtual currency fraud;

  • ensured that the statute of limitations to prosecute crimes under the Martin Act (which allows the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute financial fraud) was restored to six years; and

  • indicted executives at an airline and a freight company for a bribery and money laundering scheme at JFK Airport.

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