2019 Press Releases

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• 3/15/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DELIVERS TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HOUSE BILL 7222

  Attorney General William Tong released written testimony today in support of House Bill 7222, "An Act Concerning the Duties of the Office of the Attorney General."

• 7/30/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, SECRETARY OF STATE MERRILL ISSUE ALERT REGARDING ILLEGITIMATE BUSINESS MAILING

  Attorney General William Tong and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill are alerting Connecticut businesses about a mailing from a company calling itself CT Certificate Service. The mailing suggests that Connecticut businesses must pay a fee of $112.50 to CT Certificate Service in order to obtain copies of their "Connecticut Certificate of Existence."

• 10/15/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON STAY OF DEPORTATION FOR WAYZARO WALTON

  Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement today regarding the stay of deportation granted by the Board of Immigration Appeals for Wayzaro Walton.

• 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."

• 3/4/2019 CONNECTICUT JOINS 21-STATE COALITION TO SUE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER TITLE X “GAG RULE”

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general announcing a challenge the constitutionality of the Trump Administration’s domestic gag rule altering the Title X family planning program. The multistate lawsuit will be filed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 5th, in the U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon.

• 5/3/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS MULTISTATE MOTION TO BLOCK PRESIDENT TRUMP FROM DIVERTING FUNDS AND RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A BORDER WALL

• 7/22/2019 AG TONG ANNOUNCES $4.78 MILLION FOR CT AS STATES SECURE $600 MILLION FROM EQUIFAX IN LARGEST DATA BREACH SETTLEMENT IN HISTORY

  Attorney General William Tong and Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today announced that a coalition of 50 attorneys general, comprising 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has reached a settlement with Equifax as the result of an investigation into a massive 2017 data breach. Connecticut co-led the multistate investigation, which found that Equifax’s failure to maintain a reasonable security system enabled hackers to penetrate its systems, exposing the data of 56 percent of American adults—the largest-ever breach of consumer data. The Attorneys General secured a settlement with Equifax that includes a Consumer Restitution Fund of up to $425 million, a $175 million payment to the states, and injunctive relief, which also includes a significant financial commitment. This is the largest data breach enforcement action in history.

• 5/1/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, CONSUMER COUNSEL KATZ APPLAUD FINAL DECISION THAT IMPOSES $1.5M FINE, PENALTIES ON DIRECT ENERGY ELECTRIC SUPPLIER

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz praised a final decision issued today by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to fine third-party electric supplier Direct Energy $1.5 million for violating Connecticut statues by employing misleading sales and marketing practices.

• 4/8/2019 AG TONG, 21 STATES OPPOSE DEVOS ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE INVESTIGATIONS INTO STUDENT LOAN INDUSTRY

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general led by Washington, New Jersey, and Colorado in a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to renew their request that the Department reverse limitations placed on the routine disclosure of student loan information to state law enforcement agencies.

• 4/10/2019 STATE ANNOUNCES JOINT FEDERAL-STATE FALSE CLAIMS ACT SETTLEMENT WITH WATERBURY SOCIAL WORKER

  (Hartford, CT) –Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby today announced a joint federal-state settlement with a school social worker who will pay $145,855 and will be suspended from participating in Connecticut's Medicaid program for three years to settle allegations that she submitted false claims for payment for psychotherapy services for children who were Medicaid recipients.

• 5/30/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS COALITION OF 15 AGS IN BRIEF TO PROTECT CRITICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING FROM TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL OVERREACH

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 15 states led by New York Attorney General Letitia James in filing an amicus brief to protect states and localities from the Trump Administration's efforts to punish so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions by putting immigration-related conditions on federal funding for law enforcement efforts. The administration has continuously attempted to punish these jurisdictions by putting these unlawful conditions on the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program (Byrne-JAG), a federal law enforcement grant allocated to States and localities.

• 7/26/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT BORDER WALL DECISION

  Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement tonight regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow the Trump administration to proceed with border wall construction while litigation continues.

• 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."

• 6/14/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS 43 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL IN ANNOUNCING $168 MILLION IN DEBT RELIEF FOR 22,000 FORMER ITT TECH STUDENTS

  Attorney General William Tong joined 43 state attorneys general in announcing an agreement to obtain $168 million in debt relief for 18,664 former ITT students nationwide. Two Connecticut students are covered in the settlement and will receive a combined $31,757.70 in debt relief.

• 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.