Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AG Ferguson sues to stop sweeping conspiracy to drive up the cost of chicken for nearly all Washington families

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.

Attorney General Ferguson uses innovative approach to recover $495,000 in stolen unemployment benefits

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.

AG Ferguson: Company that peddled robocall blocking services illegally robocalled Washingtonians

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.

AG Ferguson leads bipartisan, multistate effort supporting local journalism

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.”

Former Spokane County worker arraigned on theft charge involving public dollars

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.

AG Ferguson: Reed Hein to pay $2.61 million to resolve timeshare exit scheme lawsuit

If Reed Hein’s timeshare exit scheme impacted you or your family, please contact us by email at ReedHeinRestitution@atg.wa.gov to be notified when the claims process begins. The Attorney General’s Office will also proactively reach out to Reed Hein customers when the claims process is finalized using the contact information it received from Reed Hein.