The Division of Consumer Affairs provides information about regulations, registration requirements, and consumer rights at Kosher Fest.
Protecting investors and the public from fraud. Following nearly a decade of hard-fought litigation, the Bureau of Securities (BOS) reached a $495 million settlement with Credit Suisse Securities over its sale of toxic residential mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. One of the largest recoveries in the State’s history, the settlement included $300 million in restitution for investors nationwide. Additional actions cemented BOS’ role as a national leader in the cryptocurrency and non-fungible token space, including a nationwide $100 million settlement with BlockFi that required the company to, among other things, cease the offer and sale of its interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts until they were registered with state and federal securities regulators. BOS continues to issue cease-and-desist orders and to take action in crypto bankruptcies in order to ensure New Jersey investors and consumers are protected.
Holding companies accountable for privacy violations. DCA tackled a wide range of privacy issues facing online consumers. Among them, DCA reached a historic $391.5 million multistate settlement with Google for misleading consumers about their location tracking practices—the largest privacy settlement in history for state attorneys general. DCA also resolved multiple data breach investigations, including those with financial and real estate companies, a credit reporting company, a cruise service, and Wawa—whose insufficient data security practices allowed 34 million payment cards to be compromised in New Jersey after malware infected their point-of-sale terminals. These settlements have generated millions of dollars in penalties and mandated that companies adopt stronger data security measures and transparent data privacy practices, designed to protect New Jersey consumers going forward.
Continued efforts to protect consumers. DCA has worked vigorously to hold pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid epidemic, resulting in settlements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars that will be allocated to abate the crisis. DCA has also obtained a nationwide $141 million settlement involving the Intuit/TurboTax “free” tax filing campaign, which resulted in more than $2 million in direct payments to New Jersey residents; a $19 million nationwide settlement with Ford Motor Company for misleading consumers about their hybrid vehicles’ fuel economy; a $10 million judgment in a lawsuit cracking down on a timeshare scam; a nearly $2 million judgment against the perpetrators of a mortgage relief scam; and settlements totaling approximately $400,000 with local car dealerships for consumer abuses.
Additional Resources
Division of Consumer Affairs
Recent News
New Jersey Bureau of Securities Announces Annual Examination of Investment Advisers is Underway
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Bureau of Securities (“Bureau”) within the Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that the Bureau’s annual investment adviser examination is underway.
Attorney General Platkin, Division of Consumer Affairs Announce Nationwide $10 Million Settlement with Major Wireless Carriers
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs, together with 50 other attorneys general, announced a $10.25 million agreement with the nation’s largest cell phone companies to resolve an investigation into their allegedly misleading and confusing advertising and sales tactics.
AG Platkin Announces New Public Education Resources as Part of Home Appraisal Discrimination Initiative
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced today that the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) and Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) have launched several new public education resources as part of Attorney General Platkin’s Home Appraisal Discrimination Initiative.