Penalty Amount
$1,000,000
Connecticut Attorney General secured a $1 million multistate settlement with TFG Holding, Inc. for deceptive VIP membership program marketing and billing practices. The company must improve disclosures, obtain explicit consent, provide easy cancellation, and offer restitution to affected consumers.
TFG must clearly disclose VIP program terms including recurring charges and cancellation rights, obtain express consent before enrollment, provide a simple online cancellation mechanism, honor cancellations promptly, offer refunds for recent charges, cease billing for old enrollments, and pay $1 million to jurisdictions.
In-house legal teams should review contracts for clauses related to automatic enrollment in membership programs, ensure clear disclosure of all material terms including recurring charges and cancellation rights, verify that explicit consent is obtained before enrollment, and include provisions for easy cancellation and refund processes to avoid deceptive practices.
Entity
TFG Holding, Inc.
Also known as: TFG Holding
Industry
Retail"TFG Holding, Inc."
"$1 million"
"Automatically enrolling consumers, without their consent, into a Membership Program that included a recurring charge without consumers’ knowledge, consent, or authorization"
"Implementing and maintaining cancellation policies and practices that frustrated consumers’ ability to cancel the VIP Membership Programs into which they were enrolled"
"Failing to adequately disclose material facts to consumers, including that by purchasing products they will be enrolled in the VIP Membership Program"
$625K
Connecticut reached a $625,000 settlement with Frontier Communications Parent Inc. over an April 2024 breach in which compromised employee and vendor credentials were used to access internal systems and exfiltrate unencrypted personal information of 58,841 Connecticut residents. The settlement requires Frontier to strengthen its security program, implement specific safeguards and training, and obtain an independent third-party assessment.
$2.6M
Connecticut and New York found that Boston Children’s Health Physicians and its security vendor, XTIUM, failed to use reasonable safeguards, resulting in hackers accessing sensitive personal, medical, and employee information. The companies agreed to pay penalties totaling $2.64 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures.
Connecticut joined a coalition of state attorneys general filing a notice in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy proceedings, raising concerns about the company’s safety and privacy practices and the sensitive information it holds. The states seek protections for children and consumers if the company’s business or assets are sold or transferred; the filing does not impose a fine or other remedy.
Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman petitioned PURA to review how Connecticut public utilities use artificial intelligence, citing potential data privacy and cybersecurity risks, algorithmic errors, and misleading outputs. The petition asks PURA to examine utility AI systems, safeguards, vendors, and data security practices; it does not report a finding of violation or an imposed penalty.
$2.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a settlement with RZ Smoke, Inc. over allegations that it distributed and sold high-potency cannabis products without a state license. The stipulated judgment is $2 million, with $375,000 payable to the State and $1.6 million suspended to ensure compliance; the company is barred from specified cannabis activities in Connecticut unless licensed.
$13.7M
Connecticut joined a coalition of states and the federal government in settling allegations that Takeda paid healthcare providers speaker honoraria and provided meals to induce prescriptions of Trintellix, leading to allegedly false claims to government healthcare programs. Takeda agreed to pay $13,670,921 plus accrued interest, with portions allocated to federal and state programs.