2019 Press Releases

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• 8/22/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG CHALLENGES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXPEDITED REMOVAL RULE TO UNLAWFULLY DENY IMMIGRANTS DUE PROCESS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of attorneys general, led by California, in opposing the Trump Administration’s new rule vastly expanding the use of expedited removal.

• 2/8/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DEFENDS TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS HOLDERS BEFORE THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today joined 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to prevent the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders nationwide.

• 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.

• 2/27/2019 AG TONG ANNOUNCES START OF WELLS FARGO CONSUMER REDRESS REVIEW PROGRAM

  Attorney General William Tong today announced that Wells Fargo has begun a consumer redress review program through which consumers who have not yet been made whole through other remediation programs already in place can seek to have their inquiry or complaint reviewed by a Wells Fargo escalation team for possible relief.

• 10/17/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG URGES CFPB TO ABANDON PROPOSED RULES THAT PROMOTE DISCRIMINATION IN MORTGAGE LENDING

  Attorney General William Tong submitted a comment letter urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) not to adopt new rules, which would undermine the ability to enforce fair lending laws and prevent discrimination against communities of color in the mortgage lending market.

• 11/13/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION WARN AGAINST NEW DEVELOPMENT IN EVERSOURCE ROBOCALL SCAM

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today warned Eversource consumers that scammers may have gained access to customer account numbers and have been using this information in attempts to defraud consumers. Complaints to the Office of the Attorney General regarding robocall utility shut-off scams continue to increase and consumers are advised to be vigilant.

• 4/10/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG CAUTIONS CONSUMERS AGAINST SAFE HOME SECURITY INC.'S BUSINESS PRACTICES

  After the Office of the Attorney General filed a motion for contempt alleging Safe Home Security Inc. violated the terms of its 2014 settlement, Attorney General William Tong is warning consumers to remain vigilant against the company's business practices.

• 7/10/2019 AG TONG, COMMISSIONERS SAADI AND SEAGULL, AND CONNECTICUT NATIONAL GUARD CAUTION CONSUMERS AGAINST MILITARY IMPOSTER AND AFFILIATION SCAMS

  Attorney General William Tong, Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Thomas Saadi, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull, and Major General Francis J. Evon Jr., Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard, today marked Military Consumer Month by urging residents to remain vigilant against military imposter and affiliation scams.

• 2/22/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DENOUNCES TITLE X DOMESTIC GAG RULE TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE

  Attorney General William Tong today released the following statement denouncing release of the final Title X domestic gag rule by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services imposing new unlawful restrictions on access to women's healthcare.

• 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.

• 7/11/2019 AG TONG, DCP COMMISSIONER SEAGULL ANNOUNCE SETTLEMENT WITH HEALTH INSURER PREMERA OVER FAILURE TO PROTECT SENSITIVE DATA OF MILLIONS NATIONWIDE

  Attorney General William Tong and 29 other attorneys general filed a settlement today that requires Premera Blue Cross to pay a total of $10 million because of its failure to secure sensitive consumer data.

• 3/18/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES INVESTIGATION INTO HYUNDAI AND KIA FIRES

  Attorney General William Tong today announced that Connecticut is one of the leaders of an ongoing multistate investigation into both Hyundai and Kia for potential Unfair and Deceptive Acts or Practices related to spontaneous vehicle fires.

• 7/23/2019 AG TONG JOINS 18-STATE COALITION SUPPORTING CALIFORNIA'S BAN ON LARGE-CAPACITY MAGAZINES TO PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a group of 18 state attorneys general to defend California’s ban on large-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

• 3/19/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS COALITION CALLING ON EPA TO WITHDRAW ITS PROPOSAL TO WEAKEN EMISSIONS STANDARDS FROM COAL POWER PLANTS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined 20 attorneys general and seven local governments in a coalition led by California to demand the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdraw its proposal to weaken federal standards limiting greenhouse gas emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed coal-fired power plants. The coalition asserts in its comments that these standards protect against increased emissions and further acceleration of climate change. The proposal, if finalized, could increase carbon dioxide pollution contributing to climate change by weakening current requirements that new power plants minimize their emissions to the extent feasible. Under EPA’s proposal, a new coal-fired plant would be able to emit 35 percent more carbon dioxide than it could under current law. In 2015, after exhaustive technical analysis, EPA determined that new plants can meet the current standard by using carbon capture and storage. The coalition asserts that the EPA’s reversal of that finding and its new proposal are arbitrary and capricious, and in violation of its statutory obligation to control emissions under the Clean Air Act.

• 3/6/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS STATES’ EFFORTS TO HALT SEISMIC TESTING OFF ATLANTIC COAST

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and eight other attorneys general today joined a group of non-governmental organizations in a motion to preliminarily enjoin the Trump Administration’s authorization of harassment of marine mammals via seismic air gun surveys in the Atlantic Ocean. These “seismic testing” surveys, meant to explore the ocean floor for oil and gas, will expose whales, dolphins, and porpoises to repeated sound blasts louder than 160 decibels. The surveys will threaten the health and life of hundreds of thousands of highly sensitive marine mammals, including multiple endangered or threatened species. In addition, these tests are another step toward allowing offshore drilling - an action that could result in severe and irreparable harm to coastal and marine resources, including our vibrant coastal economy.