2019 Press Releases

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• 1/31/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, SIX STATES SUE TRUMP ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FOR FAILURE TO REGULATE INTERSTATE SMOG POLLUTION

  Attorney General William Tong today joined six states and the City of New York in filing a lawsuit aimed at forcing the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to comply with federal law by requiring further controls on smog pollution that blows into Connecticut and other states.

• 1/29/2019 STATE REACHES FALSE CLAIMS ACT SETTLEMENT WITH WEST HAVEN BEHAVIORAL ANALYST REGARDING IMPROPER BILLING FOR AUTISM SERVICES

  A West Haven behavioral analyst has agreed to pay $20,000 and will be suspended from participating in Connecticut's Medicaid program for three years for allegedly submitting false claims for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) services, Attorney General William Tong and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby announced today. Settlement funds will be returned to the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP).

• 1/24/2019 Consumer Advisory: AG Tong, Consumer Counsel Katz Warn Ratepayers of Potential Errors on Electric Bills

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said today that consumers who purchase electricity from third-party electric suppliers should carefully review their electric bills, and report any irregularities to state regulators. Customers should also carefully consider whether they are getting the best deal or whether a switch to the standard service rate would help save them money.

• 1/24/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG PRAISES PURA DECISION LOWERING RATES ACROSS ALL PUBLIC UTILITIES

  "This decision today means lower rates across the board for Connecticut consumers across all regulated utilities. Ratepayers shoulder the burden of utility taxes, and the Office of the Attorney General fought to ensure every dollar saved due to corporate tax cuts will be used to drive down rates."

• 1/23/2019 AG Tong, Banking Commissioner Perez Caution Federal Workers to Beware of Predatory Online Payday Lenders during Ongoing Federal Shutdown

  While many Connecticut financial institutions are stepping up to the plate to provide no-interest, low-interest loans and other financial assistance to furloughed federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown, Attorney General William Tong and Department of Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez today cautioned workers to avoid predatory online payday lenders who may seek to exploit struggling workers with unaffordable and potentially illegal payday loans or disguise themselves as participants in Governor Lamont’s zero-percent public-private loan program passed by the legislature yesterday.

• 1/22/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES $120 MILLION MULTISTATE SETTLEMENT REGARDING UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE MARKETING OF HIP IMPLANT DEVICES

  Attorney General William Tong announced today a $120 million multistate settlement with 45 other attorneys general resolving allegations of unfair and deceptive marketing of metal-on-metal hip implant devices by Johnson & Johnson and DePuy, Inc. Connecticut will receive $1.8 million, to be deposited in the general fund.

• 1/18/2019 AG, DCP Urge Consumers to Use Gymboree, Crazy 8 Gift Cards

  Attorney General William Tong and state Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today advised Connecticut consumers who may have unused gift cards or merchandise credits to Gymboree, Crazy 8 and Janie and Jack stores to use those credits before the retail outlets close their doors for good.

• 1/17/2019 New Haven Behavioral Health Provider Agrees to Settlement, Suspension to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

  A former New Haven behavioral health clinician group and its owner have agreed to pay $100,000 and will be suspended from participating in Connecticut's Medicaid program for ten years for allegedly engaging in a systematic and long-term pattern of submitting false claims to the program, Attorney General William Tong and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby said today.

• 1/15/2019 Statement from AG Tong on Census Question Ruling

  "The states, many experts, former Census Bureau directors and even Census Bureau research all agree that demanding citizenship information on the U.S. Census would depress participation – particularly in immigrant communities that feel justifiably threatened by the Trump Administration's openly hostile political agenda. The judge in this case has agreed, and I appreciate the depth of the analysis that the court has provided in stopping this question from being included on the 2020 Census."

• 1/14/2019 Statement from AG Tong on Federal Preliminary Injunction in ACA Contraception Case

  "The healthcare choices that women make are decisions that should belong to each individual woman and her doctor, not her employer or the federal government. This effort to deny access to basic women's healthcare is yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to roll back women's rights and Connecticut won't stand for it."

• 1/10/2019 AG Tong Announces Multistate Settlements with Fiat-Chrysler and Bosch over Defeat Devices in Certain Diesel Passenger Vehicles

  Auto-maker Fiat Chrysler and its subsidiaries will pay $72.5 million to resolve allegations from 51 states and territories that the company manufactured and marketed more than 100,000 model year 2014 to 2016 Ram 1500 trucks and Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles with 3.0 liter V6 diesel engines that were equipped with software intended to circumvent emission standards, Attorney General William Tong said today.