http://www.oag.state.md.us RSS feed for Maryland Office of the Attorney General Press Headlines en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 08:00:00 EST Thu, 17 May 2012 09:15:00 EST webmaster@oag.state.md.us(Fritz Schantz) http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/051712.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/051712.html Baltimore, MD (May 17, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Maryland, joined by 16 other states and the federal government, is pursuing legal action against Healthpoint, Ltd. regarding the marketing and sale of Xenaderm, a drug used to treat decubitus ulcers (bed sores). The lawsuit alleges that Healthpoint began marketing the drug in 2002 without FDA approval, even though the FDA had previously determined one of its active ingredients to be less than effective. The Medicaid program does not pay for unapproved drugs that have been determined to be less than effective. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/051612.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/051612.html Baltimore, MD (May 16, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that his Consumer Protection Division, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and 43 other states and the District of Columbia filed consent decrees totaling $45 million concerning Skechers USA, Inc., the makers of Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups, and the Skechers Resistance Runner athletic shoes. The lawsuit alleged that Skechers advertised their rocker-bottom shoes helped consumers lose weight, burn calories, improve circulation, fight cellulite, and firm, tone or strengthen thigh, buttock, and back muscles without having adequate support for such claims. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050812.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050812.html Baltimore, MD (May 8, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today called on Congress to increase the cap on the Crime Victims Fund to at least $1 billion so victims can access the services they need. The Attorney General, along with 50 other state and territorial Attorneys General, delivered their appeal in a National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) letter sent to Congress this morning. "Raising the cap will help more Marylanders who've suffered severe injury or loss as a result of becoming a victim of crime," said Attorney General Gansler. "This is not an economy or tax issue. The money has been collected by the criminal justice system and is just waiting to be put to good use." The Crime Victims Fund was created as part of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) and is funded entirely through collections from criminal fines, special assessments and other penalties paid by federal criminal offenders. These non-taxpayer revenues have already been collected and deposited into the Fund, with a projected $7.4 billion balance for fiscal year 2012. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050712a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050712a.html Baltimore, MD (May 7, 2012) - Following an earlier announcement of a $100 million consumer protection settlement with Abbott Laboratories, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler further announced that Maryland - joined by 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government - has reached an additional agreement with Abbott to settle allegations of Medicaid fraud for the company's illegal marketing of the drug Depakote. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050712.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050712.html Baltimore, MD (May 7, 2012) - Attorney General Gansler announced today that Maryland has joined 44 other states and the District of Columbia in reaching a $100 million settlement with Abbott Laboratories over allegations of illegal marketing of its Depakote drug. The agreement is the largest multi-state consumer protection-based pharmaceutical settlement ever reached. Maryland will receive more than $1.8 million dollars and the Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories will be prohibited from marketing the drug for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050412a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050412a.html Baltimore, MD (May 4, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that former Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) employee Joann E. Fleishell, 53, of Frederick, was sentenced to 6 years behind bars with all but 6 months suspended, ordered to pay $87,474 in restitution and was placed on 5 years supervised probation. In March, Frederick County Circuit Court Judge Julie Stevenson Solt found Fleishell guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Theft over $500. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050412.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050412.html Baltimore, MD (May 4, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Wells Fargo has mailed letters to borrowers who may be eligible for an interest rate reduction on their home mortgages under the $25 billion Mortgage Servicing Settlement between Attorney General Gansler, 48 other attorneys general and the nation's five largest mortgage servicers. The settlement provides nearly $1 billion in relief and assistance to Marylanders who have been distressed by the housing crisis. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050212.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050212.html Baltimore, MD (May 2, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Christina Denise Simmons, 36, of Upper Marlboro, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court for Frederick County to one count of felony theft. The charge stemmed from a scheme to defraud Simmons' automobile insurance company. Sentencing is scheduled for June 27, before the Honorable Julie Stevenson Solt. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050112.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/050112.html Baltimore, MD (May 1, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today highlighted the risks associated with distracted driving among young adults as part of the inaugural "Stop the Texts Day" nationwide initiative that aims to curb texting while driving. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/042812.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/042812.html Baltimore, MD (April 28, 2012) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today joined with leaders of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, to launch MedChi's new web portal for health care professionals who seek to help patients when legitimate health insurance claims have been denied. The new effort, entitled Insurance Watch, helps spread the word and direct inquiries and complaints to Attorney General Gansler's Health Education and Advocacy Unit (HEAU). HEAU assists consumers with insurance disputes and other health-related consumer issues. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/042212.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/042212.html Baltimore, MD (April 22, 2012) - In an effort to expand environmental awareness and highlight greater understanding of the challenges facing Maryland waterways, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler marked Earth Day by releasing his 2011 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Environmental Audit. The fourth in a series of annual reports details the 2011 audits of the Back, Anacostia and Choptank Rivers and the Baltimore Harbor. For each audit, the Attorney General travels into communities, watershed by watershed, to learn first-hand from those who know, use and love our State rivers. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041912a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041912a.html Baltimore, MD (April 19, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that former Maryland Board of Nursing employee Malika Yakini James, 37, and Yolanda Terrelle Dunham, 31, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to Bribery and Conspiracy to Commit Bribery, respectively, for their roles in a scheme to buy and sell fraudulent nursing assistant certifications. Sentencing for James and Dunham is scheduled for September 17 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041912.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041912.html Baltimore, MD (April 19, 2012) - In an ongoing effort to combat further environmental and economic damage to the Chesapeake Bay from the historic decline of Atlantic menhaden, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today asked the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) - the interstate body tasked with managing menhaden - to move quickly and adopt stronger menhaden protections. Attorney General Gansler is calling for sector-specific quotas to ensure that fishing interests with the greatest impact on the menhaden fishery do their part to reverse the decline of this species that is a vital link in the Bay food chain. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041812.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041812.html Baltimore, MD (April 18, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Everett Wilson, 77, of Severna Park, has been indicted on fraud and theft charges by the Grand Jury for Anne Arundel County. Wilson, a licensed certified social worker (LCSW-C) and mental health provider for the Medicaid program, was charged with nine counts of Felony Medicaid Fraud and one count of Felony Theft of over $10,000. It is alleged that from July 2006 to July 2010, Wilson submitted claims for payment to the Medicaid program for services that were not rendered. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041812a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041812a.html Baltimore, MD (April 18, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Ms. Musa N. Agroh, 34, of Owings Mills, has been indicted by the Grand Jury in Baltimore County for the abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult. The victim, a 65-year-old woman, was a resident of a facility for disabled adults in Randallstown that is operated by United Cerebral Palsy for Central Maryland. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041612.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041612.html Baltimore, MD (April 16, 2012) - An unregistered animal adoption charity that had allegedly been representing itself as an authorized 501(c)(3) and soliciting contributions will now fully comply with the Maryland Solicitations Act or face $12,000 in civil penalties, under an agreement reached with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Secretary of State. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041212a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041212a.html Baltimore, MD (April 12, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has obtained a preliminary injunction enforcing its prior cease and desist order against Glenn Chumley and his business, Medical Alert Buyers Alliance Corp. The Division has charged Mr. Chumley and his company with preying on elderly consumers by selling them emergency alert devices and one-year service plans promising to connect them with an emergency alert center if they fell or had other medical emergencies, but then failing to respond when they needed help. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041212.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041212.html Baltimore, MD (April 12, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that 10 individuals have been indicted by the Grand Jury of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and charged with Bribery and Conspiracy to Commit Bribery for a scheme arising from the sale of fraudulent Maryland Nursing Assistant certifications. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041112a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041112a.html Baltimore, MD (April 11, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler joined state attorneys general from 14 states and Puerto Rico today in charging three of the nation's largest book publishers and Apple Inc. with colluding to fix the sale prices of electronic books. The states' antitrust case, which was filed in federal court in Austin, Texas, cites the defendants for violating the states' antitrust laws and the federal Sherman Antitrust Act. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041112.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041112.html Baltimore, MD (April 11, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that James Darnell Conway, 53, of Hurlock, was convicted in Dorchester County District Court on the charge of illegal discharge of oil. Judge John L. Norton, III gave Conway a six-month suspended sentence, placed him on two years probation and ordered him to pay $2,864.58 in fines and restitution. The Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041012.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/041012.html Baltimore, MD (April 10, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler thanked members of the Maryland General Assembly today for approving key legislation during the 2012 legislative session that will help protect the civil rights, environmental health, credit history and personal safety of thousands of Maryland families for years to come. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/040612.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/040612.html Baltimore, MD (April 6, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today the indictments of Baltimore residents Melissa Wee, 30, and Crystal Loyd, 33, by the Grand Jury for Anne Arundel County. The indictments allege that, from July 2009 to June 2010, Wee and Loyd submitted claims for payment to Medicaid for fraudulently obtained prescription drugs. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/040512.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/040512.html Baltimore, MD (April 5, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary M. Collyer has signed the consent judgments that order the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to comply with comprehensive new mortgage loan servicing standards, to provide substantial direct consumer relief and monetary payments, and to submit to an independent monitor, as part of a $25 billion national mortgage servicing joint state-federal settlement. It is the largest joint state-federal settlement ever obtained. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032912a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032912a.html Largo, MD (March 29, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Maryland, joined by the federal government, has secured a settlement with Good Samaritan Hospital of Maryland, Inc. The agreement resolves allegations that Good Samaritan systemically and falsely reported many patients as suffering from malnutrition. Good Samaritan will pay $213,464.41 to the Maryland Medicaid program, half of which will compensate the State for its portion of the fraudulently billed Medicaid claims. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032912.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032912.html Largo, MD (March 29, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Branching Out Tree Service, Inc., of Pasadena, through its owner Steven J. Everd, Jr., has pled guilty to the unpermitted clearing of property within a Chesapeake Bay Critical Area buffer zone. The privately owned waterfront property is located along Merrimac Drive in Davidsonville. Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge William Mulford, II fined the defendant $10,000 to be paid to the Maryland Clean Water Fund, and issued a sentence of five years probation. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032612a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032612a.html Largo, MD (March 26, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that former Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) employee Joann E. Fleishell, 53, of Frederick, was found guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Theft over $500 by Frederick County Circuit Court Judge Julie Stevenson Solt. Between Jan. 5, 2007 and Oct. 10, 2008, Fleishell conspired to steal $87,474 while employed at the Frederick County branch of the MVA. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 4. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032612.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032612.html Largo, MD (March 26, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that former Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employee Tabitha Y. Contee, 39, of Upper Marlboro, was sentenced in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to five years incarceration with all but six months suspended. Judge Paul A. Hackner also ordered Contee to complete five years of supervised probation upon her release and make restitution in the amount of $46,510.70 to DNR. Contee pled guilty last month to felony theft over $10,000. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032312.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032312.html Largo, MD (March 23, 2012) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler joined U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today for an informal roundtable discussion of the $25 billion National Mortgage Servicing Settlement with several community-based housing advocates and state and local government officials. The discussion, held at Prince George's Community College in Largo, centered on the needs of distressed Maryland homeowners and the most effective ways to assist those affected by the housing crisis, regardless of whether their mortgages were serviced by the five banks who are parties to the settlement. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032312a.html http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2012/032312a.html BALTIMORE, MD (March 23, 2012) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Christina Denise Simmons, 36, of Upper Marlboro, was arraigned in the Frederick County Circuit Court on one count of insurance fraud and one count of felony theft. Bail was set at $10,000. A trial date has not yet been set. http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/index.htm http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/index.htm