OLYMPIA – The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) today sent a letter to the Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel for CardSystems Solutions, Inc., demanding the company inform all consumers affected by its recent security breach.

The letter, proposed and authored by Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, was signed by the attorneys general of 44 states, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Olympia - March 23, 1998 - A record $2.6 million was returned to the state's Medicaid program in 1997 as a result of prosecutions and settlements by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The returned money came in the form of restitution, overpayments, penalties and fines resulting from fraud cases the unit investigated and prosecuted.

"The recoveries are larger because the frauds are getting larger," explained Attorney General Christine Gregoire. "We are getting busier all the time and cases are getting bigger and more complex."

OLYMPIA -- April 6, 2000 - The Attorney General's Office today formally requested that the State Supreme Court review a superior court ruling issued last month, which declared the state's anti-spam law violated the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U. S. Constitution.

SEATTLE – Concerned about the recently reported security breach at CardSystems, Inc., Attorney General Rob McKenna is requesting that the company provide information about affected Washington consumers.

“Remedial steps must be taken immediately to minimize risk to consumers,” McKenna said.

SEATTLE - July 20, 1998 -- Two Canadian telemarketers have agreed to cease all operations in the United States and pay $900,000 (Canadian) for allegedly using illegal and deceptive practices when selling foreign lottery tickets to U.S. citizens.

As part of a stipulated judgment, Final Round Services Limited and Golden Packages Limited, both of Vancouver, British Columbia, will pay the money to the Washington Attorney General's Office and the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General for consumer restitution and legal fees.

SEATTLE - February 10, 1999 - The Attorney General's Office today filed Washington's second lawsuit under the state's new junk e-mail law, alleging a Georgia business owner “spammed” Washington computers with unsolicited sales pitches that contained false and misleading information.

The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges Sam Khuri, owner of Benchmark Print Supply in Atlanta, solicits customers over the Internet by using unsolicited e-mail, also known as “spam,” in violation of Washington's junk e-mail law.

Seattle - August 5, 1998 --The Attorney General's Office today filed a lawsuit and a Consent Decree against a San Diego company for allegedly producing misleading home mortgage and loan advertisements that resemble a solicitation from an official government agency.

“Envelopes with an eagle emblem are usually from the Post Office,” said Attorney General Christine Gregoire. “By using the emblem, this company tricked consumers into opening mail that would have otherwise ended up in the trash.”

OLYMPIA - Patients who used the heart and blood pressure medication Cardizem CD or its generic equivalents between 1998-2003 now have until Nov. 15 to file claims seeking reimbursement under a nationwide antitrust settlement with two drug manufacturers.

The deadline has been extended to provide additional time to notify drug users and send them the necessary claim forms. The original deadline was Sept. 23.

SEATTLE - June 11, 1998 - Washington's e-mail users now have some protection against those who inundate their e-mail boxes with junk e-mail. Today Washington's new junk e-mail law went into effect making it illegal to use false or misleading information when sending an unsolicited, commercial e-mail.

OLYMPIA - Washington patients who took the heart and blood-pressure medication Cardizem CD or its generic equivalents between 1998-2003 must file claims by Sept. 23 in order to be eligible for reimbursements under a proposed nationwide antitrust settlement with two drug manufacturers.

About $434,000 could go to an estimated 15,000 Washington residents as the result of a proposed settlement announced last year between the two drug makers and all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.