SEATTLE - 5.30.03 - The Attorney General's office has filed suit against the operators of an Internet billing service who allegedly obtained customers without authorization and then charged them $4.99 for each minute they were connected to the service.

More than 100 complaints from Washington consumers have been received by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division concerning the scheme, which is operated by a New Jersey-based company called Alyon Technologies, Inc., and its Georgia affiliate, Telcollect.

OLYMPIA - The Attorney General's Office today petitioned the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a decision by a three-judge 9th Circuit panel that would require the state to offer scholarship money to college students majoring in theology.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board, which oversees the scholarship program, endorsed the decision.

SEATTLE - A Kirkland-based water heater contractor will pay up to $10,000 in restitution, $5,000 in attorney fees and will stop engaging in unfair business practices under a settlement announced today by Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

In a consent decree filed in King County Superior Court, Action Water Heaters doesn't admit guilt, but agrees to conditions it must meet in order to avoid paying $35,000 in civil penalties.

OLYMPIA -Sept. 12, 2001- The Washington state Attorney General's Office is warning consumers to be on the watch for people who may try to take advantage of them in this time of national tragedy.

Following other tragedies, con artists have attempted to take advantage of the public's good will, Attorney General Christine Gregoire said. Often, she said, scams take the form of phony charities seeking donations, or unscrupulous merchants who unnecessarily raise the prices of essential goods.

OLYMPIA - The Attorney General's Office, AARP and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) today said they plan to send thousands of trained volunteers around Washington to combat fraud against senior citizens.

They launched the Fraud Fighter campaign by training 400 volunteers in Spokane. The volunteers' mission will be to educate hundreds of other senior citizens in the Spokane area on how to avoid becoming victims of fraud.

OLYMPIA -- A Vancouver, Wash., car dealer who depleted a 69-year-old mentally impaired man's retirement savings by selling him 18 cars in 14 months will pay $15,000 in civil penalties and $17,000 in attorney fees, Attorney General Christine Gregoire announced today.
 
That is in addition to a separate, private settlement reached between the dealership and the man's lawyer that restored the man's savings and left him with a new vehicle.

SEATTLE - Attorney General Christine Gregoire today joined Federal Trade Commission officials to announce the filing of more than two dozen Internet-fraud enforcement actions by 14 different agencies from western states and two Canadian provinces.

The sweep culminates an effort started 18 months ago when the FTC provided training for consumer protection agencies from Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, British Columbia and Alberta.

OLYMPIA -- A Missouri company that sells cigarettes over the Internet should be required to disclose its customers so the state can collect unpaid taxes, according to a lawsuit filed against the company by Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

Gregoire alleges the company, D.C. Inc., which does business as DirtCheapcig.com, is violating state and federal law by refusing to disclose its customers as required under the federal Jenkins Act.

Olympia - June 5, 2000 - Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today Philip Morris has volunteered to comply with proposed FDA rules regarding advertising in magazines with significant youth readership.

As a result of the decision, the tobacco company will pull advertising from 42 publications with a large youth readership, including Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated.

Gregoire said Philip Morris also has agreed to stop advertising on highly-visible back covers of publications.

March 4, 2002 - As the focus on state budget deliberations intensifies, I have been asked my opinion of proposals to sell off future tobacco payments in exchange for cash to help balance the budget.
 
I recognize the terrible budget situation the state is in today. According to Chang Mook Sohn, 80 percent of the budget problem is attributable to September 11 and its aftermath.