Each week, Crowell & Moring's State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. Here are this week's updates.

Multistate

  • A multistate coalition of 24 attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In their amicus brief for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, the attorneys general support the CFPB's contention that the agency's funding structure is constitutional and argue that the court should not invalidate the CFPB's past and ongoing regulatory and enforcement actions even if it determines that the agency's current funding structure is not constitutional. Those regulatory and enforcement actions cover all aspects of consumer financial markets.
  • The state attorneys general of New Jersey, Oregon, and Florida co-led an overall $2.5 million settlement with EyeMed Vision Care that resolves an investigation into a data breach that compromised the personal and medical information of approximately 2.1 million people, including more than 52,000 from New Jersey. Pennsylvania also joined in the multistate settlement.
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported the discovery of a data breach involving cybersecurity company Fortra, which may have affected more than four million people worldwide. This attack specifically targeted medical data. Affected organizations include Hitachi Energy, Saks Fifth Avenue, Procter & Gamble, NationBenefits, and many more organizations across the United States and world.

California

  • California Attorney General Rob Bonta publicized that the former president of a purported mortgage "investment" company, Robert Sedlar, has been convicted of 100 felony counts for operating a mortgage fraud scheme throughout California. The scheme resulted in a combined loss of over $7 million. The victims, including people who were elderly and in financial distress, sought mortgage relief services from Grand View Financial LLC in the counties of San Diego, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Placer, Solano, Mendocino, San Francisco, El Dorado, and Sacramento. 

Colorado

  • Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that Ifficient, a Denver-based marketing company that uses digital advertising to find potential customers and collect their personal information on behalf of its clients, will pay the state of Colorado $21,250 after the company sold 850,000 Coloradans' personal information without their consent during a 2017 federal broadband rulemaking campaign.

District of Columbia

  • Washington DC Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced a settlement with SoLo Funds Inc., an online fin-tech platform that facilitates and advertises loans to consumers, which resolves allegations that SoLo deceived consumers about the true cost of the loans on its platform and facilitated loans with over 500% APR on average—far exceeding the District's 24% usury cap.

New York

  • New York Attorney General Letitia James and Acting Department of Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald warned New Yorkers about a new scam targeting New Yorkers enrolled in public health insurance programs and provided important tips to protect consumers. Attorney General James and Acting Commissioner Dr. McDonald are urging New Yorkers to be vigilant in light of reports of scammers deceptively calling people and asking them to pay hundreds of dollars to maintain their health insurance.

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