Congress is considering another $28 billion in CARES Act payroll support for the airlines. This is on top of the $60 billion provided earlier this year. Before Congress provides an additional bailout for the industry, I'm urging Congress to adopt new consumer protections. (1/) I commend Congress’ efforts to avoid thousands of layoffs, but not all airlines are treating consumers fairly. AGs have received consumer complaints about airlines failing to provide refunds and not allowing timely redemption of vouchers or credits, among other complaints. (2/)

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted cert in Brnovich v DNC. Ballot harvesting remains illegal in Arizona.

supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor… More on Arizona's ballot harvesting case: azag.info/bhc

We've filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against 2 debt collectors who allegedly called AZ consumers & made false claims & threats to convince them to pay debts that they have no authority to collect. Lawsuit alleges the defendants told consumers they were officers of the law, (1/3) and that they must immediately respond or be subject to court action. Details: azag.info/OCC
#DebtCollectors cannot pretend to be law enforcement & they cannot threaten to arrest you. Before you pay, listen to the warning signs & read through our checklist. (2/3)

More than 1,000 former ITT Tech students in Arizona will collectively receive $7.8M in loan forgiveness from a settlement we reached with PEAKS Trust for their alleged predatory tactics used to manipulate students. (1/5) PEAKS is accused of giving temporary credit to students that they knew, or should have known, the students wouldn't be able to repay. Many of the students were from low-income backgrounds and were left with the choice of enrolling in the high-interest PEAKS loans or... (2/5)

Former charter school principal for defunct Bradley Academy sentenced to prison and ordered to pay over $2.5M for his role in helping enroll fake students. Examples below of fake driver's licenses created to support enrollment and fraudulent funding for hundreds of fake students. The school abruptly shut its doors in Dec. 2017. It was later discovered 191 fake students were enrolled in 2016/17 and 453 fake students were enrolled in 2017/18. This resulted in over-payments of $2,216,366.91 by @azedschools, $91,356.75 by @usedgov, & $230,998.42 by @USDA.

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃: Former Hacienda Healthcare CEO William Timmons & former CFO Joseph O’Malley for for an elaborate white collar fraud scheme. Hacienda will pay $11M to settle its case. Thank you to our AGO agents for bringing justice to Arizonans. More: bit.ly/32UknFe Background: The indictment alleges that from 2013 until Timmons resigned in 2019, Timmons and O’Malley intentionally misallocated funds from @ArizonaDES and @AHCCCSgov by manipulating costs to avoid repayments of state funds in favor of inflated salaries and bonuses.

Today, we responded back to the Secretary of State, who called for a criminal investigation over proposed changes to the USPS. Our office will not be swayed by politics. Misinformation is dangerous to the electoral process and undermines voter confidence.

azag.gov/sites/default/… The allegations in the Secretary's letter are purely speculative, and the letter contains no information or evidence establishing that the delivery of any Arizona ballot has been illegally delayed.

Sharon Ashcroft, of Mesa, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for stealing over a thousand insurance company checks issued to doctors she worked for in Tempe between 2011 and 2017. She will be placed on 4 years of supervised probation and will pay $651,330.65 in restitution. Beginning in August of 2011, Ashcroft worked as a part-time medical biller for two ophthalmologists. She would deposit insurance checks issued to the doctors for patient care into bank accounts she controlled.

azag.gov/press-release/…

Attorney General Brnovich Announces New Criminal Chief and Additional Staff Promotions:
azag.gov/press-release/… John Johnson has been promoted to serve as the new Criminal Division Chief. John has managed a wide variety of criminal cases as a prosecutor & criminal defense attorney over the course of his esteemed career. He currently serves as the Child and Family Protection Division Chief.

The AG’s Office has received several criminal complaints from Arizonans who received a letter from DES about their unemployment benefits, even though they did not apply. In some cases, the individuals were mailed a debit card with unemployment benefits they did not sign up for. Today we issued a warning to Arizonans about unemployment insurance fraud claims that could be related to possible identity theft and the acquisition of personal information from victims obtained from phishing scams or previous unrelated data breaches.

azag.gov/press-release/…

On Thursday our office sent cease and desist letters to Clean Air EXP demanding the company stop advertising air purification systems by suggesting the systems neutralize COVID-19. We have also notified the company to preserve all written and electronic materials related to Clean Air EXP’s sale or advertisement of any products related to COVID-19 in anticipation of possible consumer fraud litigation.

Former Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to running an adoption fraud scheme that involved bringing pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S. to give birth, fraudulently paid for by Arizona taxpayers. azag.gov/press-release/… While Paul Petersen enjoyed a position of respect and trust in the community, he manipulated adoptive families and bilked Arizona taxpayers for his own profit. Mr. Petersen must now answer for his crimes.

In May I joined with 22 other AG's urging the @FTC to adopt new rules to further protect grieving consumers against fraudulent or overbearing demands made by the funeral industry and increase pricing transparency. yourvalley.net/stories/funera… Most of us don't have experience in planning a funeral, but losing someone we love can be one of the most difficult times in a person's life, and it shouldn’t be made any harder by incomplete information or inconsistent pricing.

Read our FTC letter here: azag.gov/press-release/…

Arizona, like every other state, must exercise the responsibility and authority to protect the integrity of the ballot box. 14 amicus briefs were filed with #SCOTUS in support of our defense of Arizona's laws restricting ballot harvesting and prohibiting out-of-precinct voting. The legal challenge filed by outside groups seeking to undo Arizona’s common sense election statutes has broad implications for the entire country. States need a clear rule of law from the Supreme Court so they may continue to ensure fair and equal voting for all.

Today we filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against Google for deceptive and unfair practices used to obtain users’ location data, which Google then exploits for its lucrative advertising business. In 2019 over 80% of Google’s revenues - $135B out of $161B - were generated through advertising. Google collects detailed information about its users, including their physical locations, to target users for advertising. Often, this is done without the users’ consent or knowledge.

Attorney General's Office awards nearly $300,000 in grants to help survivors of human trafficking. @phxdreamcenter @ANewLeafAZ @OurFamilyTucson @CityofPhoenixAZ Starfish Place
azag.gov/press-release/… The AGO awarded $75,000 to City Help Inc., @phxdreamcenter, to expand shelter beds and on-site medical, psychological, educational, and legal services.

$115,000 consent judgment obtained against Lyle Day, the co-founder and former partial owner of DIY Neurocare of America, LLC (DIY Neurocare). $105,000 for consumer restitution. azag.gov/press-release/… Our lawsuit alleged that DIY Neurocare sold LED light pads which the company claimed could treat symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and other ailments.

Remembered, never forgotten.

New legal opinion released RE: Application of Executive Order 2020-18 to Religious Worship.
azag.gov/sites/default/… Attendance at a place of worship is clearly an “essential activity” under Executive Order 2020-18. The Executive Order expressly provides that essential activities include “[e]ngaging in constitutionally protected activities such as speech and religion.”

We just filed a petition asking the US Supreme Court to weigh in on Arizona’s authority to enact election integrity measures regarding ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting. I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the integrity of our elections and ballots. Full release and copy of filing available here: azag.gov/press-release/…

66 current and former AGs from across the country have filed an amicus brief in our tuition lawsuit against ABOR, supporting our authority to initiate lawsuits when deemed necessary to address matters of state concern and to protect the public interest.
azag.gov/sites/default/… “Amici urge this Court to find the Attorney General does not litigate simply on behalf of the Governor or some other executive or subdivision of state government.”