2020 Press Releases

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• 5/22/2020 Court Blocks Fraudulent Business from Operating in Connecticut Following Action by Attorney General Tong

  A Connecticut Superior Court judge has barred Sports Media Advertising, a Texas-based company, from doing business in Connecticut until the court finds that it has complied with a civil investigative demand issued in connection with an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General.

• 1/24/2020 Attorney General Tong Files Amicus Briefs Opposing Massive Expansion of Expedited Removal Process, Fights to Protect Residents from Erroneous Deportation

  Attorney General William Tong joined two amicus briefs filed this week in the U.S. Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in opposition to Trump Administration efforts to vastly expand use of expedited removal proceedings. Expedited removal is a fast-tracked deportation process that denies access to legal representation, witnesses, or any meaningful opportunity to present evidence or a defense.

• 5/18/2020 Attorney General Tong Files Brief Defending Due Process Rights of Immigrant Detainees

  Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 18 attorneys general filing a friend of the court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit defending due process rights of immigrant detainees who have been unlawfully denied bond.

• 8/10/2020 Attorney General Tong Moves to Block Trump Effort to Undermine Full, Fair Census Count

  Attorney General William Tong has joined a multistate coalition filing a motion to stop President Donald Trump’s efforts to illegally leave millions of immigrants out of the congressional apportionment base following the conclusion of the 2020 Decennial Census. President Trump last month issued an executive order seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base-- the latest in the Trump Administration’s illegal maneuvers to manipulate the census count and congressional apportionment.

• 8/10/2020 AG Tong Joins Coalition Challenging Trump Administration’s Unlawful Effort to Bar Immigrants and Foreign Workers

  Attorney General William Tong has joined a coalition of 23 attorneys generals in fighting against the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to curtail legal immigration and temporary work visa programs. In an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs in Gomez., et al. v. Trump [INSERT HYPERLINK] the coalition calls for an injunction against the enforcement of two executive orders that would suspend large swathes of the nation’s legal immigration system and several of its most important non-immigrant work visa programs. The coalition argues that the participation of immigrants and other foreign-born employees in the workforce is critical to economic development, and that the order will prolong the separation of families.

• 12/7/2020 Attorney General Tong Announces $86.3 Million Settlement with Mortgage Service Nationstar

  Attorney General William Tong joined with 50 other attorneys general and other federal and state agencies today announcing an $86.3 million settlement with Nationstar Mortgage. Nationstar is the country’s fourth-largest mortgage servicer.

• 8/12/2020 AG Tong Urges Eversource And UI To Reimburse Consumers For Cost Of Lost Food And Prescriptions

  Attorney General William Tong today urged Eversource and United Illuminating to do the right thing and immediately reimburse consumers for lost food and prescriptions using shareholder, not ratepayer funds.

• 5/20/2020 AG Tong Seeks Deadline Extension for Families Filing Claims Against Purdue Pharma In Light of COVID-19 Pandemic

  Attorney General William Tong has asked the court overseeing the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy to extend the deadline for filing claims against the company, so that people do not lose their rights during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 9/8/2020 Attorney General Tong Urges Energy and Technology Committee to Enact Strong Protections for Ratepayers

  Attorney General William Tong submitted testimony today to the Energy and Technology Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature, urging strong action to protect ratepayers. In written testimony, Attorney General Tong offers support and key suggestions to strengthen ratepayer protections in the bill.

• 3/30/2020 AG Tong DCP, Commissioner Seagull Warn Connecticut Residents of Potential Stimulus Check Scams

  Attorney General William Tong and Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today warned Connecticut residents to be on the lookout for potential scams involving future stimulus checks from the federal government.

• 3/31/2020 AG Tong Announces False Claims Settlement With Optician Your Eyes of New Britain

  Attorney General William Tong today announced a $263,488 civil False Claims Act settlement with Your Eyes of New Britain regarding overbilling for eyeglass refitting. Your Eyes of New Britain provides vision care services including the design, manufacture, fitting, and dispensing of prescription eyeglasses

• 3/17/2020 Attorney General Tong Provides Update on Coronavirus Price Gouging Complaints

  Attorney General William Tong today announced that the Office of the Attorney General has received 71 complaints regarding large price hikes on basic supplies like hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and toilet paper since Gov. Ned Lamont declared civil preparedness and public health emergencies on March 10 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

• 10/28/2020 Attorney General Tong Multistate Coalition Pushing for Scientific and Medical Research Funding During COVID-19 Pandemic

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and its National Institutes of Health (NIH) urging them to reject recent recommendations made by the Trump Administration’s NIH Human Fetal Tissue Ethics Advisory Board (Board).

• 3/20/2020 Attorney General Tong Praises Utilities for Reconnecting Customers During Emergency

  Attorney General William Tong thanked Eversource, United Illuminating, Connecticut Natural Gas and Southern Connecticut Gas today after being told the utilities will reconnect customers disconnected for nonpayment prior to the COVID-19 emergency moratorium.

• 9/10/2020 Attorney General Tong joins lawsuit to protect Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling

  Attorney General William Tong announced today he is joining a coalition of X states filing a federal lawsuit against the Trump Administration to protect Alaska’s pristine and undeveloped Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas development.