Dear Friends,

Last month was a good month in the fight against scammers, especially here in Washington.
 
More than 100 rogue debt collectors, including several in our state, were targets of the largest-ever national law enforcement crackdown on illegal debt collection operations.
 
Two other companies were held accountable for cheating tens of thousands of students nationwide when I teamed up with my fellow attorneys general to stop their scams.
 
And, two health care sector companies will have to pay hundreds of millions in reimbursements to federal and state programs for illegal “kickback” schemes that endangered patients nationwide. 
 
In other news, we concluded our review of the allegations against Planned Parenthood here in Washington and found no evidence to support the unfounded claims against the health care provider.
 
We also continued our commitment to protecting the environment, joining a national coalition to defend the Environmental Protection Agency’s new power plant carbon pollution rules.
 
In this issue, read about:

My office found no evidence to support allegations against Planned Parenthood health centers in Washington, following a request by state legislators that my office conduct an investigation. You can read more about our findings here.  
We are not alone in our findings that allegations against Planned Parenthood are unfounded.  Other states, including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have also reviewed Planned Parenthood activities within their states, and none have found evidence to support the allegations.
Under both the U.S. Constitution and Washington state law, women have the right to choose an abortion. Washington voters spoke clearly on this issue in 1991, when they approved Initiative 120 affirming this right.
Unfounded allegations against Planned Parenthood are troubling. They divert resources away from patient services, making it more difficult for Washington women to exercise their constitutional rights.
 
Spokesman Review
Editorial: AG report should end attacks on legal research, services
 
KOMO News
State finds no evidence against Planned Parenthood
 
Yakima Herald-Republic
Washington finds no evidence against Planned Parenthood

Unlawful debt collection practices, such as harassing or threatening debtors, are a significant problem. Nearly 30 million consumers nationwide have an account in collections, and debt collectors make as many as 1 billion contacts with consumers every year. 
 
As part of a nationwide crackdown on rogue debt collectors, my office has taken multiple enforcement actions this year to protect Washington consumers. The actions were filed as part of Operation Collection Protection (OCP), the largest-ever coordination of law enforcement actions to hold unlawful debt collectors accountable for illegal collection practices. More information on each is available here:
 

• Richard John Brees, Garnishment Services LLC
• PDL Recovery Group, Jamie Belstadt
• Rotech Holdings LTD, Glenn R. Lista, Sean M. Lista
• D. Scott Carruthers, A Professional Law Corporation
• International Credit Recovery, Inc.

Seventy-three state and national organizations participated in this effort, bringing more than 115 actions against illegal debt collection operations since the beginning of this year.     
 
Unlawful debt collection practices, such as harassing or threatening debtors, are a significant problem nationwide, including in Washington state. Nearly 30 million consumers nationwide have an account in collections, and debt collectors make as many as 1 billion contacts with consumers every year. For more information about consumers’ rights and how to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office or the Federal Trade Commission, visit our website here.
 
Seattle Medium
AG Cracks Down on Unlawful Debt Collection Practices…

Two companies are facing the consequences after being caught cheating students nationwide.   

Lesson #1: Do not engage in deceptive marketing. Education Management Corporation (EDMC), a for-profit college company based in Pennsylvania that operates 110 schools in 32 states and Canada, will have to pay back students after attorneys general nationwide found that it engaged in a pattern of deceptive and predatory marketing tactics targeting students. The company will now have to forgive more than $103 million in outstanding loan debt held by over 73,000 qualifying students nationwide, including $1 million in debt owed by 1,187 former students of the Art Institute of Seattle and Argosy University’s Seattle campus. 
 
Lesson #2: Do not charge illegal fees. Washington students cheated by StudentLoanProcessing.US will receive restitution from a $418,000 court judgment. The company preyed on student loan borrowers by charging illegal fees for debt relief and assistance services that are already available for free through the U.S. Department of Education.

I urge current and former students never to pay an upfront free for student loan debt relief.  Our news release about this case is loaded with information and resources for consumers seeking student loan debt assistance.

Seattle P-I
Student loan debt adjusting company to pay $418,000 for overcharging students and collecting unlawful fees
 
Press Release
AG obtains $1.4M in loan forgiveness from for-profit education group EDMC

Protecting Washington’s environment is one of my top priorities. I recently joined a national coalition of states, cities and counties to defend the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s new power plant carbon pollution rules.

The new rules require fossil-fueled power plants, the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the nation, and the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington, to cut their carbon dioxide emissions pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act.  

Several states, trade and industry groups have filed lawsuits challenging the rules. In response, the coalition of 26 states (including Washington), cities and counties filed motions to intervene in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.    

More details on our work to protect the environment by helping defend these common-sense EPA rules are available in this announcement.

My office recovered nearly $2 million for Washington from two multi-state agreements involving illegal “kickback” schemes that endangered patients.
 
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation will pay $390 million to the federal government and 11 states, including Washington, to resolve a lawsuit involving an illegal kickback scheme used to boost sales of its drug Exjade. The company began the scheme, detailed in this news release, to raise profits when Exjade failed to meet sales goals and Novartis discovered that refill rates for the drug were lower than anticipated. Washington’s share of the settlement is $1.2 million for Medicaid reimbursement.
 
In a separate agreement, Millennium Health laboratories will pay back $256 million to the states and federal government for illegal revenue gained in a kickback scheme designed to increase the number of laboratory tests it got paid to process. Our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the multi-state investigation into the company’s fraudulent billing schemes that systematically billed federal health care programs for excessive and unnecessary tests. Washington will receive $426,000 in Medicaid reimbursement.
 
I have called on the Legislature to renew the state’s Medicaid Fraud False Claims Act, which makes recoveries like these possible. Washington’s civil enforcement actions pursuant to the Act — which will expire in June 2016 unless renewed — have returned $3 to the state’s Medicaid program for every $1 the state spent on enforcement.
 
Seattle Medium
AG Reaches $1.2 million Agreement In Novartis Drug Kickback Investigation
 
Enumclaw Courier-Herald
Attorney General Bob Ferguson recovers $426K from Millennium Health for illegal kickback scheme