Daughter frequently billed Medicaid while father splurged on a new home, Seahawks tickets

OLYMPIA — Today the Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced that the husband and daughter of a home-healthcare program client will serve jail time for stealing $111,705 from state and federal health care programs.

“This was a significant case of fraud and justice was served,” said Senior Counsel Carrie Bashaw of the Washington State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). 

SEATTLE – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is joining the Federal Trade Commission in warning consumers about a new scam targeting seniors. 

“Do not give personal details to callers posing as government officials attempting to collect your health information as part of the new Affordable Care Act,” said Shannon Smith, Division Chief for the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

More than 150 minors in 31 states posted for sale on Backpage’s “adult services” section

SEATTLE – Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna and county prosecutors from around the state this week filed their response to a lawsuit from online classified site Backpage.com.

State Attorney General warns borrowers to avoid mortgage-related scams

YAKIMA – “It’s the happy endings that keep you going,” says Tracy Harden, a certified housing counselor who has been helping debt-swamped consumers for 17 years.

GlaxoSmithKline settles drug marketing and pricing claims

OLYMPIA –Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced Washington state’s share of the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history.

“Thanks to a Medicaid-fraud fighting partnership between the states and the federal government, Washington will receive $8.9 million from this new settlement with GlaxoSmithKline,” said McKenna. “The recovered money will help fund health care services to the needy and support additional fraud-protection work.”

OLYMPIA – Today the US Supreme Court upheld the 2010 Affordable Care Act. In a close decision, with multiple opinions, the Court ruled that the federal requirement to purchase health insurance—specifically a plan dictated by government regulators – does not violate the Constitution.

President of National Association of Attorneys General addressed human trafficking, mortgage crisis

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna today concluded his term as president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), handing the gavel to Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler.

SEATTLE – Vianna Engel was determined to hold on to her home. “If I lose my property, my elderly mother loses her home, too,” Engel this week explained to a staff member at the Attorney General’s Office. Her mom’s single-wide mobile home sits on Engel’s property in Rochester. “She took care of me and I’m not going to let this happen to her.”

SEATTLE – On May 7, Backpage.com attorney Liz MacDougall wrote in the Seattle Times that the online marketplace, which charges a dollar and up for prostitution ads, is “an ally in the fight against human trafficking.” On Monday, Backpage attorneys filed a lawsuit against the state of Washington over a first-of-its-kind law that encourages ID checks before prostitution ads are placed online.

Consumers should think twice before giving these companies a “second chance”

SEATTLE – Guess who is back in town?  It’s the door-to-door magazine sellers from out of state who appear on doorsteps claiming outrageously priced subscriptions will help fund “second chance” opportunities for inner city youth.  The Washington Attorney General’s Office has issued warnings about such visitors before, and is again alerting consumers to beware of these solicitors and think twice before buying their magazines.