Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

OLYMPIA — For this year’s International Charity Fraud Awareness Week, Oct. 17 to 21, Attorney General Bob Ferguson is urging Washingtonians to do research before donating and watch out for scammers seeking to take advantage of donations.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson released the results of a consumer survey revealing that 59% of Washingtonians may have been unintentionally enrolled in a subscription plan or service when they thought they made a one-time purchase, highlighting a problem that may be impacting millions of Washingtonians. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that just over 6 million adults live in Washington state. Consequently, 59% represents 3.5 million Washingtonians. Respondents reported that pre-check boxes constitute a significant source of the problem.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that he expanded his lawsuit against 14 Providence-affiliated hospitals, including five Swedish hospitals, by adding two collection agencies that worked for the hospitals. The Attorney General’s underlying consumer protection lawsuit stems from Providence’s charity care and collections practices impacting tens of thousands of patients and hundreds of millions of dollars in medical debt.
VANCOUVER — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today a court order will require Chuck’s Towing, a Clark County towing company, to pay three service members for illegally selling their cars at auction. The order also requires it to implement specific policies so it will not harm service members in the future.
A recent independent economic study evaluating the impact of Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s No-Poach Initiative concluded that it directly increased wages for low-income franchise workers nationwide.
TACOMA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that national jewelry outlet Harris Jewelers will provide more than $1.5 million in debt relief and refunds to more than 1,000 Washington service members. The company preyed specifically on active-duty military members and induced them into signing contracts that Ferguson asserted were violations of the federal Military Lending Act and the state Consumer Protection Act.
TACOMA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Tradesmen International LLC will end its existing non-compete agreements that restrict the job mobility of thousands of workers in Washington. Today’s announcement is the result of Ferguson’s investigation into Tradesmen’s unfair and deceptive use of non-compete agreements that it never disclosed to its affected workers, and that violate Washington law.
OLYMPIA — Starting tomorrow, 4 million Washingtonians will qualify for free or discounted care at hospitals across Washington as a result of legislation requested by Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that, as a result of his lawsuit against the company, Seattle-based US Stemology and its owner, Dr. Tami Meraglia, cannot advertise, market or receive any payment for unproven stem cell treatments. US Stemology must also pay $500,000 to the Attorney General’s Office, which will be used to provide restitution for those who paid for stem cell procedures. 107 individuals paid for the procedures and are eligible for restitution.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against a South Carolina company offering a deceptive online training program that duped Washingtonians into paying $30,000 for an online course. The company, Prehired LLC, issued the following guarantee in its marketing materials: “We guarantee you land a $60k+ job offer (from a tech company YOU choose).”

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