Public meeting to be co-hosted with Yakama Nation

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/P) Task Force will hold its first meeting, co-hosted with the Yakama Nation, on Dec. 2 and 3, 2021.

Multi-billion dollar corporation violated state minimum wage law by paying workers $1 per day

OLYMPIA — In a victory for Washington, a federal jury determined that GEO Group Inc. (GEO), the for-profit operator of the Northwest ICE Processing Center, violates Washington’s minimum wage laws by paying detainee workers only $1 per day. The verdict concludes the first phase of a retrial in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against GEO.

Conspiracy affected 95 percent of chicken sold for meat in the U.S.

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today he has filed a lawsuit against 19 chicken producers accusing them of a wide-ranging illegal conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize profits. Ferguson’s lawsuit also names an industry data reporting service accused of assisting in the conspiracy.

First state to use asset forfeiture authority to recover stolen COVID-19 funds

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that his office recovered $495,000 stolen from the Washington Employment Security Department, making Washington the first state to use its asset forfeiture power to recover stolen funds. The money will be returned to the Washington unemployment insurance trust fund.

Ruling blocks a Trump-era rule that limits states’ ability to protect water quality

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that the court vacated, effective immediately and nationwide, the Trump Administration’s attempt to dismantle key environmental protections in section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

Company made over 54,000 calls to Washingtonians — and 46,000 of them were on the federal Do Not Call Registry

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against a Corvallis, Ore.-based company, Global Grid Telecom, and its owner for illegally robocalling Washingtonians with deceptive recorded messages. Ironically, the calls attempted to sell a purported robocall-blocking service.

Ed Troyer faces one count false reporting, one count false or misleading statement to a public servant

SEATTLE — Today, Attorney General Bob Ferguson led a bipartisan coalition of 15 attorneys general calling on Congress to pass legislation supporting local journalism.

“High-quality, independent journalism is critical to our democracy,” Ferguson said. “Local outlets have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic – ironically, just when their role as distributors of reliable information has rarely been more crucial. We must do all we can to save local journalism.”

Changes mirror those Postal Service wanted ahead of the 2020 election that Ferguson successfully blocked in federal court

Rhonda Sue Ackerman accused of stealing $1.38 million from county over 10 years

SPOKANE — A former Spokane County worker was arraigned today on charges that she fraudulently obtained $1.38 million from Spokane County by filing fictitious claims on behalf of 45 individuals over a 10-year period.

Rhonda Sue Ackerman has been charged with one count of theft in the first degree, a Class B felony, in Spokane County Superior Court.