Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its law enforcement partners are taking an increasingly aggressive approach to investigating and pursuing allegations of fraud related to federal relief programs designed to aid small businesses and their employees. Over the past week, the DOJ announced charges against 11 individuals in connection with two different COVID-19 relief fraud schemes. In each case, the individuals sought to illegally obtain millions of dollars…

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AG’s have taken. Here are this week’s updates. Wednesday, November 18 Attorneys General from 34 states announced a $113 million settlement with Apple over its 2016 decision to throttle iPhone speeds to address shutdowns, rather than disclosing the battery issues it discovered to consumers or replacing batteries. The Attorneys General allege that failing to disclose these issues and throttling iPhone performance…

Recently, New York enacted a new law against gendered pricing that was included as a key component of the state’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget and Governor Cuomo’s 2020 Women’s Agenda. In a press release announcing the law, Governor Cuomo states, “By abolishing the pink tax, women and girls will no longer be subject to harmful and unfair price discrimination and any businesses who fail to put an end to this despicable practice will be held…

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AG’s have taken. Here are this week’s updates. Thursday, November 12, 2020 District of Columbia Attorney General Racine filed a lawsuit against Capitol Petroleum Group, LLC (“CPG”), one of the District of Columbia’s leading retailers and distributors of gasoline, as well as affiliated companies, for price gouging during the COVID-19 crisis. The press release states that Attorney General Racine’s investigation “revealed…

Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro (D) has won a second term. With 94.4% votes being reported, AG Shapiro had over 3.3 million votes and won with a 3% lead. To learn more about Josh Shapiro, please view Crowell & Moring’s “2020 Attorneys General Election Summary.”…

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AG’s have taken. Here are this week’s updates. Wednesday, November 4, 2020 Florida Attorney General Moody announced that her Consumer Protection Division has secured almost $3 million after a trial against The Surrogacy Group, LLC and its owner for providing deceptive services to couples who are seeking to have a child through surrogacy. The judgment includes over $2 million in consumer…

In last night’s election, 10 State Attorneys General races were decided, with North Carolina and Pennsylvania remaining too close to call. Of the remaining eight states the winners are: Indiana:  Todd Rokita  (Republican/newly elected) Missouri:  Eric Schmitt (Republican/Incumbent) Montana:  Austin Knudsen: (Republican/newly elected) Oregon:  Ellen Rosenblum (Democrat/Incumbent) Utah:   Sean Reyes (Republican/Incumbent) Vermont:  TJ Donovan (Democrat/Incumbent) Washington:  Bob Ferguson (Democratic/Incumbent) West Virginia:   Patrick Morrisey  (Republican/Incumbent) We congratulate the winners and will continue to watch Pennsylvania and…