Sales suppression software hides cash transactions, allows users to steal sales tax

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed charges today against a Bellevue restaurant owner accused of using “sales suppression software” to hide cash transactions, pocketing nearly $395,000 in sales tax collected from her patrons.

At least 1,300 Washington borrowers eligible to receive up to $1,400 in cash payments

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced Washington homeowners will recover $1 million, as part of a $470 million agreement secured for homeowners nationwide through a state-federal legal action against mortgage lender and servicer HSBC.

OLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office today announced it has filed a complaint in Thurston County Superior Court alleging campaign finance violations by the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC).

Specifically, the Attorney General alleges the WSLC failed to timely and properly file reports of in-kind and cash contributions as required under the state’s campaign finance laws.

WSLC is the state federation of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), with about 400,000 Washington union members.

TACOMA — Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit will be in Tacoma next week opposing the conditional release of convicted sex offender Jerrod Stoudmire into the community.

Stoudmire, 51, has been convicted of two counts of second-degree rape of a child, one count of first-degree statutory rape, and three counts of indecent liberties against a child under age 14. He was found to be a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) in June 2013, and was civilly committed to the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

Senate hearing scheduled for Monday, Feb. 1

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s agency-request bill to raise the sale age of tobacco and vapor products to 21 today passed the House Health Care & Wellness Committee in a bipartisan 9-3 vote.

“This legislation will literally save lives,” said Ferguson.  “I thank legislators from both parties for standing with me to protect Washington youth from a life of addiction and tobacco-related health problems.  The momentum for this common-sense reform is building.”

OLYMPIA — Service Employees International Healthcare 775NW (SEIU 775) will pay more than $39,000 after an Attorney General’s Office lawsuit over its improper reporting of in-kind and cash contributions.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson applauded yesterday’s bipartisan, 5-2 Senate Government Operations & Security Committee vote in favor of his bill to modernize the Open Public Meetings Act. 

OLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office today issued Attorney General’s Opinion 2016 No. 1 in response to an inquiry from Senator Pam Roach (R — Auburn).  The Opinion, which does not advocate a policy position, finds that a non-charter code city in Washington can adopt a district-based general election procedure to avoid a potential violation of the federal Voting Rights Act under circumstances that the Opinion describes.

Bill would create a plan for non-dangerous drivers by 2018

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a plan to take on the challenges posed by the significant number of driver’s license suspensions in Washington. Ferguson’s proposal would bring together law enforcement, the courts, and other stakeholders to address the challenges faced by low-income drivers who lose their license because they are unable to pay traffic fines.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today welcomed the approval of his bill to update the Open Public Meetings Act by the House State Government Committee.  Ferguson’s agency-request legislation would modernize the penalties for knowingly violating the Act’s requirements from $100 to $500, roughly in line with inflation since the law was enacted in 1971.  The bill also adds an increased penalty of $1,000 for repeat knowing violations.