KENNEWICK — At the request of Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the Benton County District Court today ordered defendant Brandon Traner to pay the state $144,000 for the cleanup of a fishing trawler that Traner was recently convicted of abandoning in the Columbia River. Ferguson’s office obtained the first derelict vessel conviction in Washington state last month after Traner’s trawler, the M/V Forus, sank and released 50 gallons of diesel fuel and 8 gallons of motor and hydraulic oils into the Columbia,

Former corrections officer sentenced for sexual misconduct 

OLYMPIA — A former Franklin County corrections officer will spend nearly a year in jail and have to register as a sex offender because of sexual misconduct with two inmates in the Franklin County Jail. 

Justin Thomas Husom was sentenced Sept. 12 in Franklin County Superior Court to 10 months in jail for first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a Class C felony.

SEATTLE – Attorney General Bob Ferguson has invited attorneys from around the state to meet with him about volunteering to provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson has joined the latest effort to stop child sex trafficking on Backpage.com.

 Joint release with Better Business Bureau

The Washington State Office of Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau have joined together to help consumers avoid a school book scam making the rounds to schools in Washington and across the country.

School employees have reported receiving official-looking invoices from a fake company called Scholastic School Supply for some books, often math workbooks, they did not order and have not received.

OLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) recently convicted healthcare providers in four separate Medicaid fraud cases, holding accountable four defendants who did not provide the care they were paid to provide to elderly and other vulnerable adults. 

“It is deplorable that fraudsters take advantage of the most vulnerable among us for financial gain,” said Attorney General Ferguson. “My office will hold healthcare providers accountable who fail to provide adequate care for vulnerable people and commit Medicaid fraud.”

OLYMPIA – Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the state will not extend today’s deadline for resolving the dispute with the U.S Department of Energy over cleanup of the Hanford nuclear reservation. The state has extended the deadline twice already since negotiations began in March.
 
With the conclusion of the dispute resolution period, the state has 30 days in which it may file a motion in the U.S. District Court, unless an agreement is reached with the Department of Energy on key terms for Hanford cleanup..
 

OLYMPIA — In a push to protect the civil rights of same-sex couples nationwide, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and 14 other state Attorneys General are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear three marriage equality cases. 

“Same-sex couples in too many states remain unable to marry,” said Ferguson. “It is time for the Supreme Court to weigh in on this critical civil rights issue and rule once and for all that state bans on gay marriage are unconstitutional.”

OLYMPIA — Statement from Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Jenny Durkan’s resignation as U.S. Attorney:

"I’m grateful to Jenny Durkan for her five years of distinguished service to the people of our state as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington.

"My office has been privileged to work with her on many important issues, including protecting Washingtonians from crime, keeping our environment clean, and implementing our legalization of marijuana at the state level.

 Company sold hundreds of employees $72 bogus certifications

 SEATTLE — A Pierce County couple who sold bogus continuing education trainings and certificates to hundreds of adult family home employees have been sued by the Attorney General’s Office.