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Consumer Information

Attorney General Sues Over-The-Counter Hearing Aid Company Nano For Misleading Consumers

Date
January 3, 2023

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Nano Hearing Aids for misleading consumers about the effectiveness and quality of its products. The lawsuit alleges that Nano engaged in multiple layers of deception by making misleading statements on its website and in advertisements, implying its products are FDA-approved, and falsely representing its products as American-made.

Vermont Joins Three Multistate Settlements Over Experian Data Breaches

Date
December 10, 2022

Experian and T-Mobile agree to improve data protection practices

Vermont recently joined three multistate settlements involving Experian data breaches that occurred in 2012 and 2015. The breaches compromised the personal information of millions of consumers nationwide, including 2,133 Vermont consumers who had applied for T-Mobile postpaid services and device financing between September 2013 and September 2015.

Vermont To Receive $4 Million Settlement with Google Over Location Tracking Practices

Date
November 14, 2022

Attorney General Susanne Young today announced that Vermont will receive $4 million from a multistate settlement with Google over its location tracking practices related to Google Account settings. The settlement also requires Google to be more transparent with consumers about its practices, including giving users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used. The multistate settlement announced today was negotiated by a coalition of 40 attorneys general and totals $391.5 million.

Vermont Joins Three Multistate Settlements Over Experian Data Breaches

Date
November 10, 2022

Experian and T-Mobile agree to improve data protection practices

Vermont recently joined three multistate settlements involving Experian data breaches that occurred in 2012 and 2015. The breaches compromised the personal information of millions of consumers nationwide, including 2,133 Vermont consumers who had applied for T-Mobile postpaid services and device financing between September 2013 and September 2015.

Vermont Business Imposter Email Scams Are on The Rise

Date
September 12, 2022

The Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) is warning Vermont business owners, non-profits, and employees about an uptick in business imposter email scams. In the last two months, CAP has received five reports of business imposter email scams resulting in a total loss of $210,799. Scammers are impersonating employees or familiar business representatives’ emails and contacting company bookkeepers and office administrators asking them to change bank account information, direct deposit information, or asking them to write checks.

Vermont Joins 33 States in $438.5M Agreement with JUUL Labs

Date
September 6, 2022

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has joined 33 other states in reaching a $438.5 million agreement in principle with JUUL Labs, resolving a two-year bipartisan investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices. Under the terms of the agreement in principle, the State of Vermont will receive approximately $8 million over a period of six to ten years.

Vermont Joins Nationwide Anti-Robocall Task Force

Date
August 2, 2022

Vermont has joined a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 states to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing foreign robocalls into the U.S. Gateway providers that bring robocalls into the U.S. have a responsibility to ensure the call traffic is legal, but these providers are not doing enough to stop illegal robocalls.

Former Opioid Maker Allergan Agrees to Up To $2.37 Billion Settlement

Date
July 29, 2022

Vermont is set to receive another substantial settlement in its ongoing work to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid crises. For the second time this week, a drug manufacturer, Abbvie, disclosed a proposed settlement to its investors in its earnings report released today. The proposed settlement will require Allergan, acquired by Abbvie in 2020, to pay up to $2.37 billion to participating states and local governments.

Opioid Maker Teva Agrees to Up To $4.25 Billion Settlement

Date
July 27, 2022

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has reached an agreement in principle on key financial terms with opioid maker Teva, which would provide up to $4.25 billion to participating states and local governments. While critical details of the settlement remain the subject of ongoing negotiations, Teva disclosed the key financial terms in its earnings announcement yesterday.

Vermont Joins National Settlement with Carnival Cruise Over 2019 Data Breach

Date
June 28, 2022

Carnival Required to Change Its Security and Breach Practices

The Attorney General’s Office announced a multistate settlement with Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line stemming from a 2019 data breach that involved the personal information of approximately 180,000 Carnival employees and customers nationwide. As part of the settlement, Carnival must strengthen its email security and breach response practices. The company must also pay the states a total of $1.25 million, of which Vermont will receive $10,000.

Attorney General’s Office Brings Landlord Restoration Program to St. Johnsbury

Date
June 21, 2022

The Attorney General’s Office is holding a community forum for landlords on Vermont’s Lead Paint Law on Wednesday, June 29, at 4 p.m. in St. Johnsbury. Vermont law requires owners of residential rental properties built before 1978 to file lead safety compliance statements with the Vermont Department of Health every year. To help landlords understand how to ensure their properties are inspected and filings are properly completed, the Attorney General’s Office has initiated a public education and outreach campaign to promote safe housing and help landlords with compliance.

Pfizer To Refund Vermonters Deceived by Company’s Drug Copayment Coupon Program

Date
May 24, 2022

Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced a settlement with Pfizer Inc. following an investigation into the company’s business and advertising practices for its copayment coupon program. As part of the program, consumers were told that they would “pay no more than” certain amounts out-of-pocket for specific drugs – but ended up spending far more at the pharmacy. As part of the settlement, qualified Vermont consumers will automatically receive restitution for the amounts they overpaid.

AG Donovan Joins Coalition in Defending Affordable Drug Prices

Date
May 18, 2022

Attorney General T.J. Donovan joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general earlier this week in filing two amicus briefs defending efforts to ensure that community health centers, clinics, and institutions serving low-income and underserved patient populations have access to discounted prescription drugs.

AG Donovan Secures $290,000 for Vermonters Deceived by TurboTax

Date
May 4, 2022

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced a settlement with TurboTax, Intuit Inc. (Intuit), for deceiving Vermont consumers into paying for tax services that should have been free. As a result of a multistate agreement, Intuit will pay $141 million in restitution to millions of consumers across the nation who were unfairly charged. In addition, Intuit must suspend TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign that lured customers with promises of free tax preparation services, only to deceive them into paying for services.

Court Issues Judgment Against Rutland Landlord for Violations of Lead Law

Date
April 26, 2022

Rutland Superior Court issued a judgment last week in a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General’s Office against Rutland rental property owner John Ruggiero and his companies for failing to comply with Vermont’s lead in rental housing laws and consumer protection laws. The Attorney General’s Office sued Mr. Ruggiero earlier this month after the Vermont Department of Health received complaints of two children residing in Mr. Ruggiero’s properties with elevated blood lead levels. The Consent Judgment orders Mr.

Court Issues Judgment in Lawsuit Against Telemarketer Who Harassed Legislators

Date
March 31, 2022

Washington Superior Court has issued a judgment in the civil lawsuit brought by Attorney General T.J. Donovan against Missouri-based Karabell Industries and its owner, Eli Karabell, for making repeated illegal telemarketing calls and harassing state legislators to pay exorbitant sums of money. The Consent Judgment, issued yesterday, resolves the Attorney General’s lawsuit by requiring the Defendants to cease all business and telemarketing activity in Vermont and refrain from contacting anyone in Vermont about any marketing, sales, offers, or otherwise.

AG Donovan Sues Telemarketer, Karabell Industries, Who Harassed Legislators

Date
March 25, 2022

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today filed a civil lawsuit against Missouri-based company, Karabell Industries, and its owner, Eli Karabell, for making repeated illegal telemarketing calls and harassing state legislators to pay him exorbitant sums of money. The lawsuit was filed in Washington Superior Court after numerous state legislators complained of receiving late-night phone calls from the Defendants who claimed to offer “government consulting services.” The Defendants then emailed state legislators proposing contracts and demanding payments of $18,500 per hour or even $48 billion.

AG Donovan Announces National Settlement in Principle with Purdue Pharma and Sacklers of Up To $6 Billion

Date
March 3, 2022

Court Approval Required

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced a national settlement in principle with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, for their role in the opioid crisis, that will increase the amounts of funds paid by the Sacklers from $4.325 billion under the original bankruptcy plan to at least $5.5 billion. The settlement is subject to court approval.

Vermont to Receive $165,000 from Online Vaping Retailers

Date
August 3, 2021

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced that his office has reached settlements with three different online sellers of electronic cigarettes for violations of Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban and Consumer Protection Act. Under the settlements, the companies resolved claims that they sold electronic cigarettes, e-liquids, or other tobacco paraphernalia to individual consumers. As of July 1, 2019, it is illegal to sell electronic cigarettes and related vaping products over the internet to individual Vermont consumers.

Statement by Attorney General T.J. Donovan Regarding Vermont’s Opposition to Purdue Bankruptcy Plan

Date
July 8, 2021

I do not support the proposed Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan because it does not sufficiently hold the Sackler family accountable. The Sacklers are the founders and owners of Purdue Pharma, which sparked and fueled the opioid crisis. Through this bankruptcy plan, the Sacklers are leveraging their enormous wealth to obtain the protection of the bankruptcy court by having the court extinguish the states’ claims against the Sacklers.

Attorney General Donovan Is Disappointed in Purdue Plan

Date
March 16, 2021

Contact: Charity R. Clark, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today expressed disappointment when reacting to the plan Purdue Pharma filed in bankruptcy court. Along with 23 other states, Attorney General Donovan released the below statement:

“We are disappointed in this plan. While it contains improvements over the proposal that Purdue announced and we rejected in September 2019, it falls short of the accountability that families and survivors deserve.

Vermont Joins Multistate Settlement with American Medical Collection Agency Over 2019 Data Breach

Date
March 11, 2021

Contact: Charity R. Clark, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171

MONTPELIER – Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced that Vermont, as part of a coalition of 41 attorneys general, has settled with Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, doing business as American Medical Collection Agency (“AMCA”) resolving a multistate investigation into the 2019 data breach that exposed the personal information of over 7 million individuals, including 2,889 Vermont residents, and potentially exposed the personal information of up to 21 million individuals throughout the United States.

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