New York Attorney General Letitia James led a 19-state coalition to secure a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from granting Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system and Americans’ sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and bank account details. A prior temporary restraining order required immediate destruction of all records already obtained by DOGE and Musk. The lawsuit remains ongoing to permanently prevent unauthorized access to private consumer data.
Preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from allowing DOGE or Elon Musk to access the Treasury’s central payment system and Americans’ sensitive personal information while the lawsuit proceeds. A prior temporary restraining order required destruction of all copies of records already obtained by DOGE/Musk.
In-house legal teams should review all contracts with government agencies, vendors handling sensitive personal information (including Social Security numbers and bank account details), and entities with access to central payment systems to ensure robust access control provisions, explicit prohibitions on unauthorized data access, and mandatory data destruction clauses. Teams should also verify that contracts require compliance with court-ordered injunctions restricting data access and include audit rights to confirm only vetted, authorized personnel access sensitive data. Any clauses permitting broad government access to consumer data without explicit safeguards should be updated to align with this injunction’s restrictions.
Entity
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump Administration
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-stops-elon-musk-and-doge-accessing-americans-private
state of new york et al v donald trump opinion and order 202
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/state-of-new-york-et-al-v-donald-trump-opinion-and-order-2025_0.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)"
"Trump administration"
"unauthorized access to Americans’ private information"
"unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to individual Americans’ and states’ sensitive information, including social security numbers and bank account information"
"February 21, 2025"
"New York Attorney General Letitia James"
$2.6M
New York and Connecticut reached a settlement with Boston Children’s Health Physicians and its IT security provider, XTIUM, after a 2024 breach exposed private information of approximately 825,000 New York residents and 62,871 Connecticut residents. The companies will pay $2.64 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures; additional penalties are conditional on violating the settlement.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined 16 other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass proposed legislation addressing the federal government’s release of Jeffrey Epstein-related records. The press release says DOJ has not fully disclosed the records required by the original law and that personal information of at least 43 victims was exposed in released files; this is a legislative advocacy announcement, not an enforcement action imposing a penalty or remedy.
$1.9M
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement after an investigation found Dollar General stores routinely charged customers more than advertised or posted prices and issued confusing receipts. Dollar General must donate $1.875 million in food and personal items to Foodlink and implement pricing, receipt, training, and audit reforms.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released an updated guide warning voters that AI-generated election content and chatbots may provide misleading information. This is public guidance, not an enforcement action, and the release describes no penalty or privacy violation.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 39 other attorneys general filed a motion in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy, citing risks to children and sensitive user information and potential violations of state privacy laws. The coalition asks the court, the company, and any prospective buyer to require meaningful privacy and safety protections; no fine or final remedy is reported.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, the FTC, and six other state attorneys general asked a federal court to hold Martin Shkreli in contempt for allegedly trading pharmaceutical stocks and discussing pharmaceutical companies in violation of his lifetime industry ban. The requested sanctions include divestiture, an accounting of his trading, forfeiture of trading profits, and possible further fines or incarceration; the release describes a request to the court, not a new ruling imposing those measures.