News Releases

OLYMPIA – Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna Friday joined with 45 other state attorneys general calling on Congress to adopt the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) by the end of the year. Among its important features, the legislation funds task forces to protect victims and prosecute traffickers. It also funds the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline, which provides help to trafficking victims 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals accused of illegal marketing, paying kick-backs to medical professionals OLYMPIA - Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced that Washington joined with other states and the federal government to settle allegations that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI) paid kickbacks and engaged in off-label marketing campaigns that improperly promoted Atrovent, Combivent, Micardis and Aggrenox.  BIPI, a Connecticut company, will pay the states and the federal government $95 million, of which $34.5 million will go to Medicaid programs. The settlement resolves allegations that the company's conduct caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs.

SEATTLE - Avista, UTC Staff, and other parties filed a non-unanimous multiparty settlement late Friday with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) in Avista's general rate case.  The Public Counsel Section of the Washington State Attorney General's Office did not sign the settlement.

Whitney’s Auto Group and its affiliated dealerships investigated for “unfair and deceptive” tactics SEATTLE – A Washington State Attorney General’s Office investigation into Whitney’s Auto Group concluded Wednesday with an agreement halting consumer-unfriendly sales and marketing tactics.  

MyLife.com changes practices to resolve Attorney General’s investigation SEATTLE – “Go to MyLife.com, the Internet’s leading people search site, just type in your name and see if someone is searching for you – for free,” proclaimed a television advertisement for Los Angeles-based website MyLife.com. “It could be an old boyfriend,” an attractive young woman with a laptop wonders aloud. But unfortunately, according to documents filed today by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, there was nothing free about MyLife.com’s services.

This news release, regarding a case argued by the Washington State Attorney General's Office, was distributed by the Department of Ecology OLYMPIA –Washington Department of Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant issued the following statement today on a state Supreme Court ruling upholding a voter-approved funding source for environmental protection and cleanups in Washington state.

The Washington State Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the appeal of a convicted rapist challenging the verdict that found him to be a mentally ill sexual predator. South Hill Rapist Kevin Coe will remain civilly committed as a sexually violent predator at the state's Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

Claim forms for one-time payments sent to thousands of state borrowers SEATTLE – Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced that claim forms are going out to approximately 34,000 Washington state borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure.

SEATTLE — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) presented Tacoma attorney David W. Huey with the 2012 Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service. Named in honor of the late Angelo R. Petruss, a senior assistant attorney general who passed away during his term of service on the WSBA Board of Governors, this award is given to a lawyer in government service who has made a significant contribution to the legal profession, the justice system, and the public.

Cencom, Inc. said to use “vague and misleading offers to lure consumers” SEATTLE – A Kirkland, Washington-based business selling home alarm installation, repair and monitoring services nationwide will change marketing and billing practices criticized by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.