Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Passing FAIR legislation to protect consumers and small businesses 

Attorney General James championed a sweeping update to her office’s authority under New York’s consumer protection law, building on decades of work by consumer advocates across the state. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the measure into law in December. The Fostering Affordability and Integrity Through Reasonable (FAIR) Business Practices law protects New Yorkers from unfair, abusive, and deceptive business practices. This law, which Attorney General James partnered with Senator Leroy Comrie and Assemblymember Micah Lasher, updates the Attorney General’s authority under New York’s main consumer protection law for the first time in 45 years. The law can be used to address specific threats to consumers and small businesses such as predatory lenders, abusive debt collectors, subscription traps, and AI scams. 

In April, Attorney General James scored an important victory for consumers, together with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 other states, winning a lawsuit against Google for its illegal monopolies. The company’s monopolies in digital advertising stifled competition and hurt web publishers, advertisers, and consumers. Because of its enormous market power, Google was able to control nearly every part of online ad sales. It charged higher fees from advertisers and paid less to publishers for their ad space. This behavior made it harder for companies to make money on their advertising. As a result, companies had to charge users for subscriptions or put up paywalls to make money. Google harmed market competition, its own customers, and other web users by reducing quality and increasing prices.   

Capital One failed to inform existing customers about the better option and even removed the original 360 Savings account from its website, creating the false impression that customers were already receiving the highest available rate. As a result, the average accountholder lost more than $700 in interest, while Capital One avoided paying billions of dollars it owed. 

In May, Attorney General James sued Capital One to stop its deceptive practices. In September, she blocked a proposed settlement that would have let the bank keep more than $2 billion in unpaid interest while continuing to drastically underpay 360 Savings accountholders going forward. As a result, Capital One agreed to a new, billion-dollar settlement, worth more than twice the original one. The new settlement includes $425 million in restitution for consumers, including an estimated $34 million for New Yorkers, and a commitment to match the 360 Savings interest rate to the 360 Performance Savings rate going forward. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Protecting Citibank victims from fraud  

Attorney General James won a court victory that allowed her to continue her lawsuit against Citibank for neglecting its customers. The company had asked a district court to dismiss the suit, but in January the judge denied the request. Attorney General James sued Citibank in January 2024 for failing to protect and reimburse victims of fraud. The suit claims that the company misleads consumers about the rights they have after someone hacks their accounts and steals their money. In addition, Citibank illegally refuses to reimburse fraud victims. The court found that a consumer-protection law, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, applied to unauthorized wire transfers on Citibank consumer accounts. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Standing up for consumers charged illegal card fees   

Attorney General James secured more than $1 million in January from a debit- and payroll-card company that harmed New Yorkers. Netspend charged illegal fees and illegally froze customer accounts, turning customers’ money over to debt collectors. In addition, it operated a paycheck-advance program that charged illegally high rates. The company violated many consumer protection laws and harmed many New Yorkers, mostly low-income people. Netspend will pay more than $735,000 back to tens of thousands of New Yorkers and pay $350,000 in penalties to the state. 

Attorney General James sued two corporations that used illegal high-interest loans to take advantage of workers. MoneyLion Inc. and DailyPay Inc. victimized tens of thousands of New York workers with outrageous annual interest rates of up to 750 percent on payday loans. The companies pushed workers to take out new loans to cover the debt from previous loans. Both companies also misled workers by advertising loans that they could not easily get. For example, MoneyLion offered loans that workers could get only by taking multiple steps and paying many fees. DailyPay required borrowers’ employers to send the borrowers’ paychecks directly to DailyPay. DailyPay deducted owed amounts from the paychecks before sending the remaining money to the borrowers. In addition, DailyPay advertised interest-free advances, but collected fees on about 90 percent of its loans. Many borrowers had to take out hundreds of loans to cover prior paycheck deductions. DailyPay actually attracted investors by advertising its borrowers’ dependency on the loans. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Getting debt relief for New Yorkers tricked into signing leases 

Attorney General James secured $2.4 million in debt relief in December from a company that misled New Yorkers into signing illegal leases for goods and services. Monterey Finance, a financial services company, disguised the leases as traditional consumer financing agreements. Consumers thought that they were buying the items, but were actually agreeing to Monterey’s high payments and other fees for leasing the items. Many consumers ended up paying more than 200 percent over the sticker price. In addition, Monterey broke New York laws by getting consumers to sign leases for services that could not be returned, such as car repairs. Under the settlement that Attorney General James negotiated, Monterey will pay $175,000 in penalties and stop collecting on any debt from leases. The cancelled debt for New York consumers is worth about $2.4 million. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Securing millions for cheated car buyers from Nissan dealers 

In May, Attorney General James secured more than $3.2 million from Nissan dealers for cheating consumers who wanted to buy their cars after their leases ended. The dealers, in New York City, on Long Island, and in the Hudson Valley, overcharged more than 1,700 car buyers. The dealers illegally added junk fees or inflated the cars’ true prices. The consumers were promised a certain purchase price, but were greatly overcharged when they tried to buy them after their leases ended. The money that Attorney General James collected from the dealers will go to fully pay back the consumers. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Securing consumer relief and reforms for widespread vehicle theft 

In December, Attorney General James secured millions of dollars in reforms from car manufacturers who failed to install anti-theft technology in their cars. Because Kia and Hyundai did not include proper safety measures in their vehicles, the cars were vulnerable to theft. Vehicle thefts across the country destroyed cars and public property, endangered people, and even led to injuries and deaths. The cars, manufactured between 2011 and 2022, lacked standard safety measures that would prevent thieves from easily hotwiring the vehicles. As a result, car thefts surged in New York. The stolen vehicles were involved in several deadly crashes. Attorney General James, working with a group of 35 attorneys general, reached a settlement that requires the manufacturers to install anti-theft devices on affected vehicles at no cost to the consumer and pay up to $4.5 million to consumers whose cars were recently stolen or damaged. In addition, the companies must pay an additional $4.5 million in penalties and equip future vehicles with anti-theft technology.

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Stopping tour bus firms from illegally eliminating competition between themselves and penalizing them for $2.5 million 

In April, Attorney General James secured more than $2.5 million from New York City hop-on/hop-off tour bus operators that conspired to limit competition. Big Bus Tours Limited and Twin America LLC, which operated tours used by millions of visitors each year, agreed to stop illegal practices that could raise tour prices and lower quality. In exchange for ending its hop-on/hop-off service, Twin America agreed to resell Big Bus tickets and receive the highest commission rates than other companies selling Big Bus tickets. Big Bus Tours paid $2 million in penalties. Twin America will pay $500,000 plus 30 percent of the proceeds from the sale of its assets up to $900,000. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Standing up for Equinox gym subscribers  

In May, Attorney General James secured $600,000 from Equinox Group, a fitness company for its hard-to-cancel subscriptions. Equinox Group, which includes SoulCycle and Equinox+, did not make its subscription terms clearly visible to customers. It buried subscription terms in fine print or in hard-to-understand documentation. Equinox did not obtain affirmative consent for subscriptions and did not provide subscribers with the post-purchase notice required by law. In addition, the company’s cancellation process was complex, difficult, and time consuming. Equinox must refund up to $250 to New York subscribers who complained to Equinox, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Better Business Bureau, or OAG. Some subscribers who signed up or tried to cancel during a certain period could also receive restitution from Equinox. 

Protecting Consumers Across New York 

Charging strip club executives and state tax auditor in $8 million tax fraud scheme 

In September 2025, Attorney General James filed charges for tax fraud and bribing a state tax auditor, resulting in the arrest of the CEO, and other top executives of RCI, a hospitality company. A former supervising New York State sales tax auditor, who was responsible for conducting sales tax audits of the company’s strip clubs located in New York City was also arrested and charged with conspiracy, receiving bribes, criminal fraud, and falsifying business records. RCI Hospitality Holdings, operates strip clubs throughout the United States, including three clubs in Manhattan. Between 2010 and 2024, RCI bribed the auditor with trips to Florida that included adult entertainment services at RCI’s Florida strip clubs. In exchange, RCI avoided paying over $8 million in sales taxes for its Manhattan clubs. Specifically, RCI bribed the auditor with at least 13 trips to its Florida clubs including Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami, and paid up to $5,000 per day for the private dances, paid for the auditor’s hotels and restaurant meals, and also bribed the auditor with visits to its strip clubs in Manhattan. 

Advancing the Safety and Well-Being of Children 

Safeguarding kids from the vaping crisis   

In January, Attorney General James sued a vape shop in Herkimer County for selling flavored e-cigarettes, including to minors. The store was also operating without the required license. It is illegal to sell flavored e-cigarettes, and to sell e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21. Attorney General James worked with the New York State Department of Health on the lawsuit. 

In February, Attorney General James sued 13 major e-cigarette manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for helping to fuel the nationwide epidemic of youth vaping. The companies are responsible for illegally distributing, marketing, and selling flavored vapes that have become popular among young people. The candy- and fruit-flavored nicotine products are highly addictive. The companies market the addictive nicotine products to underage consumers, mislead customers about the products’ legality and safety, illegally transport products into New York, and violate health regulations. Attorney General James’ suit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars from the companies for violating laws, paying for harming public health, recovering income from illegal activities, and establishing a fund to treat the youth vaping crisis in New York. 

Advancing the Safety and Well-Being of Children 

Saving a cherished Bronx high school  

In April, Attorney General James saved a beloved Bronx high school from closing. Preston High School, an all-girls’ Catholic school, has been operating since 1947. The owners of the school property, the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, had not been able to find a buyer for the property. This situation threatened to close down the school. A nonprofit charity, Bally’s Foundation of North America, offered to buy the school grounds. After holding a public hearing to get input from community stakeholders, Attorney General James worked with the sisters and Bally’s to negotiate an arrangement to keep the school open. Bally’s bought the property and agreed to lease the property to the school for $1 per year for the next 25 years. The school will remain open for many years to come. 

Advancing the Safety and Well-Being of Children 

Safeguarding students’ personal data

In November, Attorney General James secured $5.1 million from an education software company that failed to protect students’ data. The company, Illuminate Education Inc., helps schools and school districts track students’ attendance and grades and monitor their academic, behavioral, and mental health development. In late 2021, Illuminate suffered a data breach that exposed the personal data of 1.7 million students in about 750 New York schools, as well as millions of other students throughout the country. The information included names, birth dates, student identification numbers, and other identifying information. The OAG investigated the company and found that Illuminate had failed to use basic security measures to protect the data. These measures included monitoring for suspicious activity on Illuminate’s platforms. The attorneys general of California and Connecticut joined Attorney General James in announcing the settlement. New York will receive $1.7 million of the $5.1 million in penalties and costs. The company will also take important steps to improve its data security. 

Advancing the Safety and Well-Being of Children 

Helping student athletes keep what they earn  

In March, Attorney General James won a victory in her fight to protect student athletes’ rights to earn money. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) agreed to a settlement that improve the athletes’ ability to earn money with their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general had sued the NCAA in 2024 for rules restricting the athletes’ NIL rights. These rules prevented the athletes from learning about their potential NIL earnings before enrolling in or transferring to a university. The coalition argued that these rules violated federal antitrust law. The settlement ends the NCAA’s restrictive NIL rules and lets athletes learn about NIL opportunities before they commit to a school. 

In March, Attorney General James sued a Florida resident for illegally claiming control over a low-income residence in Brooklyn. The individual created fake documents to control the corporation that owns the residence and stole at least $442,000 in rent. She then tried to sell the building for personal profit. The corporation that owns the residence, 13 Scholes Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC), was founded in 1996 to develop housing for low-income New Yorkers. HDFCs are affordable housing cooperatives that are owned and operated together by their shareholders, who reside in the HDFCs’ buildings. The original owners of 13 Scholes HDFC are deceased. The individual is the daughter of a former shareholder. She has left the building in debt while taking advantage of the corporation for her own benefit. Attorney James sued to remove the individual from corporation ownership, recover stolen rent, and prevent her from any further business with the property. 

In June, Attorney General James secured the sentencing of a deed thief who stole homes from vulnerable New Yorkers in Queens. The individual and her co-defendants stole three properties and sold them for more than $1 million in illegal profits. A Queens jury found the individual guilty on 18 charges. She was sentenced to three to nine years in prison. She is the final person to be convicted for these deed thefts. The co-defendant was also sentenced to three to nine years in prison, and a disbarred attorney was sentenced to up to three years in prison. 

In July, Attorney General James secured the arrests and indictments of a retired New York City Police Department detective, her mother, and an attorney for stealing a Bronx home. The three thieves stole half of the ownership of the house, approximately $340,000, in 2020. The retired detective, and her mother forged documents to steal partial ownership of the house, which was owned by their relative. The attorney prepared and notarized the documents on the day that their relative died. The retired detective and her mother stole the house from the husband of the relative, who should have inherited his wife’s stake in the home.      

In September, Attorney General James secured the guilty plea of a Rockland County realtor who stole a homeowner’s house. The realtor pleaded guilty to forging the homeowner’s signature in August 2021, violating an important law championed by Attorney General James. The Home Equity Theft Protection Act protects New Yorkers selling their homes in foreclosure. The realtor’s case is the first conviction of a crime under this law.    

Attorney General James sued two of the country’s top online rental companies in October to stop their anti-competitive practices that were harming renters. Previous competitors Zillow Group Inc. and Redfin Corp. had agreed in February to stop competing with each other. Zillow had paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its apartment rental advertising and transfer its customers to Zillow. The company’s agreement violates federal antitrust laws. The two companies’ illegal cooperation may allow them to raise prices throughout the rental market, hurting renters. In a housing market that is already priced too high for many renters, this type of illegal cooperation can leave renters unable to afford a place to live. Joining Attorney General James on the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia, and Washington.    

Attorney General James in July charged a Granville couple that defrauded homeowners out of more than $1.5 million between 2019 and 2023. The couple took money from homeowners for home improvement work that never happened. The couple required homeowners to pay for work up front but did not do the work, did not deliver purchased construction materials, and would not give refunds. One of the individual pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison; the other pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 months in jail; the defendants were also ordered to pay the victim homeowners over $890,000.         

Fighting for More Affordable Housing and Tenants’ Rights 

Awarding grants to support fair housing in the Capital Region 

Attorney General James in February announced nearly $1 million in grants to fair housing programs in the Capital Region. Grants were awarded to the United Tenants of Albany Inc. who will develop and run the region’s first fair housing testing and enforcement program with the support of the Fair Housing Justice Center (and their subgrantees CNY Fair Housing and Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council) who will assist United Tenants of Albany to develop and launch their program. Such fair housing programs are important to protect families from housing discrimination. Fair housing helps remedy social and economic inequality, childhood poverty, neglected neighborhoods, and other problems that often plague low-income neighborhoods. Too often, discriminatory practices and high housing prices keep families from having the home of their dreams

Fighting for More Affordable Housing and Tenants’ Rights 

Preventing a greedy landlord from preying on young tenants 

Attorney General James stopped an Albany landlord from taking illegal advantage of young tenants, who are mostly University at Albany students. The landlord, Asaf Elkayam, violated state laws and tenants’ rights by charging many illegal fees. He charged prospective renters a fee just to fill out an application and charged hundreds of dollars to clean appliances like ovens and refrigerators. In addition, he charged tenants $75 for each day they stayed in their unit after their lease expired. He also claimed the right to illegally enter tenants’ apartments without notice. After OAG’s investigation uncovered these illegal practices, Elkayam agreed to pay $8,000 in penalties and to comply with New York’s housing laws. 

Two landlords in the Capital Region were illegally discriminating against low-income renters. Attorney General James stopped their illegal practices in April. Brothers Greg and John Karian, and their spouses, were refusing to rent their 24 apartments to people with Section 8 housing vouchers. The brothers actually advertised that they did not accept Section 8 vouchers. In addition, they charged their tenants up to $100 – twice the legal maximum – for paying their rents late. These are all illegal practices. Under Attorney James’ settlement, these landlords must rent at least three units to renters with housing subsidies and stop their other illegal practices. 

Fighting for More Affordable Housing and Tenants’ Rights 

Making a landlord pay for endangering tenants

Attorney General James secured more than $672,000 from a real estate company that had created unsafe conditions for hundreds of New York City tenants. In December, BlueSky Management NY LLC agreed to pay for violating New York City construction codes and putting tenants in danger. The company owns 72 buildings with 1,150 units in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Between 2018 and 2022, the company allowed illegal construction activities and frequently cut off tenants’ heat and water supply. The company was doing construction work on neglected buildings that it had bought. During this period, BlueSky was creating unsafe conditions for tenants and conducting unpermitted and dangerous construction activities. In addition to often cutting off tenants’ gas, heat, and water service, the company subjected tenants to exposed wires, leaky roofs, pests, lead paint, and defective smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The OAG found that the company also illegally raised the rents on many rent regulated apartments and overcharged tenants. Under the OAG’s settlement, the company agreed to pay civil penalties and fines for violating regulations. It will also pay tenants for going without heat or hot water and will fix all violations of the construction code. 

Fighting for More Affordable Housing and Tenants’ Rights 

Ensuring clean water for mobile home tenants  

In October, Attorney General James won her lawsuit against a mobile home park for subjecting its residents to dangerous water conditions and illegal rent increases for years. River Valley Estates LLC in Sullivan County violated New York laws in failing to consistently provide its tenants with clean water. Tenants suffered from polluted water supplies, raw sewage flowing into their homes, or water shutoffs. In addition, the mobile home park charged residents illegal fees and rent hikes.  

In her ongoing commitment to take guns off our streets and keep our communities safe, Attorney General James held 2 community gun buybacks across the state of New York. In June, Attorney General James collected 367 firearms at a Schenectady gun buyback. Community members turned in 147 assault weapons, 92 handguns, 65 long guns, and other items. In April at a gun buyback in Syracuse, Attorney General James collected 638 unwanted firearms from community members. Working with the New York State Police and the Syracuse Police Department, Attorney General James received 130 assault weapons, 333 handguns, 2 ghost guns, and 150 long guns, among other items. Her massive effort took in more than 1,000 guns across the state in 2025. Since taking office in 2019, Attorney General James has removed more than 9,600 guns from New York communities. 

In February, Attorney General James secured a $6 million judgment against a Brooklyn store that had been selling unregulated cannabis products without a license. Big Chief Smoke Shop had been selling cannabis since at least late 2022. The store continued to operate without a license, in spite of warnings from the Office of Cannabis Management. In late 2023, Attorney General James received a closing order that shut the store down. The $6 million judgment requires Big Chief to pay nearly $5.9 million in penalties, $121,000 in illegal profits, and $44,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.  

In July, Attorney General James sued a gun store in St. Lawrence County for breaking state laws on gun safety and endangering the community. Because of the owner’s lax security, burglars were able to enter and rob the Bowman’s Gun Shop on two separate occasions – first through an unlocked door in 2019, and the second time through an open window in 2020. The thieves stole 58 guns and dozens of boxes of ammunition. Some of the stolen merchandise was illegally sold in New York City, Philadelphia, and even Barbados. Under New York law, gun dealers must have a security plan, store firearms safely, and install and maintain a security alarm system. Bowman’s Gun Shop had failed to meet any of requirements. The store, which opened in 2014, had violated laws before. In 2019, its owner had knowingly received two handguns from someone who possessed them illegally. He created false records about the handguns in his legally required logbooks. For these reasons, his license to sell pistols and his permit to own pistols had been suspended by a court, but he continued to operate the store. In 2023, the New York State Police found that the store was still violating laws for gun safety. In her lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks to ban the owner from owning or operating a gun store in New York and to require him to comply with all of New York’s laws on gun safety. She also seeks to collect monetary penalties and fees.   

Attorney General James discovered that Walmart was illegally delivering realistic-looking guns to New Yorkers. State law prohibits the sale of toy guns that look like real guns, because the toys have been used in illegal activities and have led to shootings and deaths throughout New York. Attorney General James’ investigation found that Walmart had allowed its online third-party resellers to deliver realistic-looking toy guns to New Yorkers. Walmart must pay $16,000 in penalties and fees to New York and agreed that it would not allow its third-party sellers to provide realistic-looking guns to New Yorkers.   

In December, Attorney General James secured the indictment of an Albany defense attorney for tampering with a witness in a homicide trial. The attorney allegedly shared confidential witness information, which led to a cooperating witness being attacked and injured. The attorney violated a protective order that prevented him from sharing any trial material that listed witness names and he shared a list that included the names of two cooperating witnesses. Shortly after he shared the list, a cooperating witness in federal prison was threatened and then slashed with a knife. Mills is the attorney for a defendant in a gang-related murder of a pregnant woman from 2021. 

Defending Immigrants’ Rights  

Refusing to let the federal government bully states into mistreating immigrants  

In June, Attorney General James won a victory against the federal government’s illegal restriction of transportation funding for the states. Joined by 19 other attorneys general, Attorney General James had sued the government for illegally forcing states to victimize immigrants in order to receive transportation funding. She explained that the federal government had acted unconstitutionally in trying to tie the funds to immigration enforcement. The federal government’s demands put crucial transportation projects and services in danger – from aircraft safety to mass-transit operations to road maintenance. None of these projects or services have anything to do with immigration. In addition, the administration’s cruel treatment of immigrants harms communities and destroys the trust that states have built between immigrant communities and law enforcement. 

Defending Immigrants’ Rights  

Saving birthright citizenship  

In January, the President issued an executive order to curtail the right of all people born in the U.S. to automatically become U.S. citizens. Attorney General James and numerous other attorneys general had sued to stop this executive order, which tried to deny birthright citizenship. In February, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the executive order everywhere in the country. The federal government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the injunction should apply only in the States that sued. After the Supreme Court sent the case back, the federal court again issued an injunction that blocked the executive order everywhere in the country. Attorney General James had also challenged the executive order in January, issued a strong statement in May, and spoke out again in June defending birthright citizenship. As courts have repeatedly held, the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship to all people born in the U.S. 

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Blocking an illegal federal freeze on critical state funding 

In January, Attorney General James scored a big win in court to save trillions of dollars in funding to the states. Earlier in the month, she had led a coalition of 22 other attorneys general in suing the federal government. The group brought their lawsuit because the federal Office of Management and Budget had stopped a huge amount of federal assistance to the states. The funding goes to state programs that provide critical health and childcare services to families in need, support schools, combat hate crimes and violence against women, and aid disaster relief efforts. The loss of funding was unconstitutional and destructive, leading to chaos and uncertainty across the country. Attorney General James’ court victory came in late January, when a U.S. district court prevented the federal government’s destructive policy. A few days later, Attorney General James notified hundreds of federal funding recipients that this funding could not be frozen. In March, the court reinforced the block on the freeze. 

In August, Attorney General James won back nearly $7 billion in essential education funding that the federal government had illegally frozen. She and 24 other states had sued the federal government in July for the illegal action. The administration had frozen the money just weeks before the start of the school year. The sudden cutoff threatened programs that support English learners, after-school care, teacher recruitment and training, expanded STEM and arts education, and efforts to prevent bullying and youth suicide. More than $463 million in funding for New York schools alone was frozen overnight, leaving districts scrambling to cover essential costs. Attorney General James’ court victory meant that schools in the Plaintiff States could continue providing critical services to millions of students, including some of the most vulnerable children and families. 

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Standing up for holders of student loans  

Attorney General James sued the federal administration in November for illegally making a new rule that punishes student loan borrowers for working in certain settings. Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, certain government and nonprofit employees have their student loans forgiven after 10 years of service. The federal government recently announced that many of these loan holders could not get their loans forgiven if they worked for certain employers that the administration did not like. Employees may not get loan forgiveness if they worked with immigrants, gender-affirming health care, or diversity programs, for example. Attorney General James was joined by 22 other attorneys general in the lawsuit, which argues that the administration’s action is unlawful, politically motivated, and meant to punish states and organizations that the administration simply dislikes. Instead of fulfilling its mission of supporting workers who help the public, said Attorney General James, PSLF was being turned into a political loyalty test. 

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Protecting food assistance benefits and privacy 

In September, Attorney General James won a court victory protecting the privacy of millions of people who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The court blocked the federal government from obtaining certain sensitive personal information (including home addresses, Social Security numbers, and immigration status) that could then be shared with immigration enforcement officials. Attorney General James had sued the administration in July, joined by 20 other attorneys general and the state of Kentucky.   

In December, a federal judge again sided with Attorney General James, ruling in favor of a lawsuit she brought with 21 attorneys general to stop the federal government from penalizing states for providing SNAP benefits to eligible recipients.  

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Preserving lifesaving programs for Head Start and critical services  

In September, Attorney General James won a court victory to defend critical social services programs targeted by the federal government. A federal court sided with Attorney General James in her lawsuit against the government. The court blocked the government’s attempt to use its anti-immigrant agenda to put essential programs for low-income families at risk. These programs include initiatives like Head Start, Title X family planning clinics, food banks, domestic violence shelters, adult education, and community health centers. Attorney General James, leading a group of 20 other attorneys general, had sued the administration in July.   

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Fighting federal attacks on electric vehicle charging networks   

In June, Attorney General James won a court order to restore electric vehicle funding that the federal administration had frozen. Joined by 16 other attorneys general, she had sued the government in May for taking away billions of dollars that Congress had approved for electric vehicle charging networks. She argued that withholding the money was illegal and unconstitutional. The court sided with Attorney General James and the coalition, freeing about $120 million for New York programs.     

In December, Attorney General James sued the federal government for illegally blocking billions of dollars for building charging networks for electric vehicles. Sixteen other states joined the lawsuit, responding to the government’s refusal to approve two programs for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The programs had been approved by Congress to give the states billions of dollars for the networks. The federal government refused to fund the programs without any explanation, suddenly stopping state and local projects. Attorney General James highlighted that the administration’s actions stalled important projects, took away jobs, prevented states from improving air quality, and limited people’s transportation options. The funding freeze violates the Constitution. 

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Restoring state funds to fight terrorism and prepare for emergencies   

In October, Attorney General won back the nearly $34 million that the federal government had denied the MTA in September. A court ordered the administration to release the funds, which the MTA uses to protect New Yorkers from terrorism. Attorney General James had sued the administration in September for cutting these essential funds. The federal government had withheld the money from MTA to punish New York City for its humane treatment of immigrants. 

In December, Attorney General James won an important court case to save hundreds of millions of dollars to keep the public safe. A district court sided with her in a lawsuit she had brought against the federal government for illegally cutting states’ funding for public safety. Together with 11 other attorneys, Attorney General James had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in September for denying the states millions of dollars for counterterrorism, emergency preparedness, and public safety. The federal administration had threatened to cut off this funding if New York and other states did not comply with the administration’s cruel treatment of immigrants. Attorney General James pointed out that the administration’s threats were unlawful and unconstitutional. In addition, cutting the funds would put communities at great risk. Her lawsuit sought to protect the states’ Homeland Security Grant Program funding, which included more than $100 million for New York alone. The court had ordered DHS in October to stop cutting the funds. 

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Preserving funding for sexual violence survivors

In November, Attorney General James won a key victory for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking. Leading 20 other attorneys general, she had sued DOJ in October for adding dangerous conditions to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The DOJ’s changes threatened to cut off funding for critical legal services for survivors who could not immediately prove their immigration status. These grants provide critical funding for legal services for crime victims, including representation in family court for survivors seeking child custody, and representation in housing court for survivors facing eviction proceedings and other issues. Attorney General James and the coalition argued that DOJ’s restrictions were unlawful, and would put survivors in great danger: many people fleeing abuse might not be able to gather or to access any documentation at all, but need access to legal services immediately to protect themselves and their families. It would be difficult or impossible for many service providers to get documents showing survivors' citizenship or immigration status before representing them.  

Preserving Federal Funding for Essential Programs 

Saving more than $184 million for AmeriCorps volunteer workers  

Attorney General James won back funding for AmeriCorps in August. This money supports the work of about 200,000 volunteers across the country. Attorney General James had sued the federal government in April, shortly after the administration canceled the funding of about 80 percent of all AmeriCorps grants. The federal government also placed hundreds of workers on leave. When Attorney General James won the lawsuit in August, the administration agreed to release more than $184 million back to AmeriCorps programs in the Plaintiff States. This amount includes about $14.7 million for New York projects. AmeriCorps volunteers work on programs that help with disaster and poverty relief, education, environmental protection, community health, and veterans services. Twenty-three other states, plus the District of Columbia, had joined Attorney General James in the lawsuit. 

Holding the Federal Government Accountable 

Saving four federal agencies from being dissolved

In November, Attorney General James won her lawsuit to protect four federal agencies from elimination. She had brought the lawsuit against the federal government in April, co-leading 20 other attorneys general. At that time, the administration had promised to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Minority Business Development Agency, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. She argued that the executive order violated the Constitution and ignored Congress. The president cannot use an executive order to eliminate federal agencies or suddenly cut off agency programs. The court’s November decision permanently blocked the administration’s executive order that would eliminate the four agencies.

Defending our Elections and Stopping Tariffs 

Pushing back on illegal tariffs  

In April, Attorney General James sued the federal government for illegally imposing worldwide tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In May, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in her favor, finding that IEEPA does not authorize the administration’s tariffs. The court agreed that the unlawful taxes would harm consumers, businesses, and workers nationwide. 

In September, a court again sided with Attorney General James, reaffirming that the administration had illegally used IEEPA to impose new tariffs. These rulings blocked the federal government’s unlawful tariff scheme and protected New Yorkers from higher prices, inflation, and job losses. The ruling is not in effect while the Supreme Court deliberates on the Court of Appeals decision. 

Defending our Elections and Stopping Tariffs 

Blocking illegal federal action to interfere with elections   

Attorney General James fought in May to protect voters in New York and across the country. She requested a court to block a federal executive order that tried to take control away from states and makes it difficult for many voters to register. Attorney General James and 18 other attorneys general had sued the government in April over the executive order for its unfair, undemocratic actions. One of these actions is requiring voters to provide physical proof of citizenship while voting, which violates the National Voter Registration Act. The executive order requires states to verify a voter’s citizenship before even giving the voter a registration form. In addition, the executive order prevents states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. The federal government threatens to withhold funding from states unless they follow the illegal actions demanded by the executive order. 

Ensuring Access to Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care 

Shielding New Yorkers who receive reproductive or gender-affirming care

A new law that Attorney General James drafted to shore up protections for people receiving reproductive or gender-affirming care was signed in December. She worked closely with health care providers and advocates to draft the law, Strengthening Legal Protections for Gender-Affirming Care and Reproductive Health Care. Known as a “shield” law, this law strengthens defenses against attacks on providers and patients of legal health care in New York. Attorney General James pointed out that these providers and patients face mounting threats to their privacy and safety from hostile states and from the federal government. Anti-abortion prosecutors and attorneys general have attempted to target down New York’s providers of legal care. New York’s new shield law was created to protect against these growing threats, and has now been strengthened to provide even greater protections. 

Ensuring Access to Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care 

Defending gender-affirming care and education from federal attacks  

In August, Attorney General James sued DOJ for threatening patients’ access to gender-affirming health care. The government began intimidating providers of this care into stopping medically necessary treatment for transgender and nonbinary patients younger than 19. The government operated a coordinated campaign against these providers, threatening them with baseless criminal charges and investigations. Attorney General James led a coalition of 15 other states, plus the District of Columbia, in the lawsuit, which asked the court to stop the dangerous campaign and ensure that patients can get necessary care.     

In October, Attorney General James won a court order preventing the federal government from censoring sexual education programs. The federal administration had illegally required states to erase references to gender identity from sexual education programs. In September, Attorney General James had sued the administration for withholding tens of millions of dollars from two key education grant programs unless states censored the programming. Fifteen other attorneys general joined Attorney General James in the lawsuit. To get the funding, states would have to remove all mention of transgender, intersex, and binary people from the Personal Responsibility Education Program and Title V Sexual Risk Avoidance Education program. Attorney General pointed out that erasing this information from vital educational programs would put youth at risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, such censorship would cruelly deny the existence of many Americans. 

In December, Attorney General James led a coalition of states in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over an unlawful “declaration” by Secretary Kennedy attacking gender-affirming care that attempted to further intimidate and bully health care providers. The federal action threatened to exclude providers from participating in Medicaid and jeopardize their ability to continue practicing at all, putting medically necessary care for transgender and nonbinary patients at risk. 

In September, Attorney General James stopped a drug company from continuing to mislead the public about its opioid-overdose drug, Opvee (nalmefene). The company, Indivior, misled public officials about Opvee’s availability. The company promoted the drug as if it were approved for use in New York without a prescription, but it is not authorized for such use by the New York State Department of Health. Indivior had advised law enforcement staff, who often encounter overdoses, that they could substitute Opvee for Narcan (naloxone), but Narcan is the only drug authorized for use in opioid overdose prevention without a prescription in New York. The OAG investigated Indivior and negotiated a settlement that requires Indivior to stop misleading the public officials and refund the full price that they paid for Opvee doses.    

In July, Attorney General James secured more than $200 million from Gilead Sciences for using illegal kickbacks to promote its HIV medications. The drug company broke federal anti-kickback laws by giving health care providers meals, awards, and travel expenses for prescribing its medications. As a result, government health care programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, received millions of dollars’ worth of false claims. The company’s policies did not prevent sales representatives from improperly offering the incentives to health care providers. Some health care providers attended expensive HIV dinner meetings dozens of times. Gilead also gave large monetary gifts to providers who promoted the company’s HIV drugs. Forty-eight other attorneys general joined Attorney General James in the settlement. 

A nursing home aide pleaded guilty to stealing from a resident in December, following Attorney General James’ investigation. The aide had stolen the resident’s debit card in 2023 while working at a nursing home in Rochester. She withdrew more than $60,000 from the victim’s funds, spending the money on groceries, bills, and lottery tickets. She will be sentenced to 30 to 60 days in jail and five years of probation. The victim will also get his money back. 

Protecting New Yorkers’ Health Care

Righting the human harm of financial fraud at a Syracuse nursing home  

Attorney General James in August secured major reforms and $12 million at a Syracuse nursing home for financial fraud, understaffing, and neglect that resulted in resident deaths and trauma. The owners of Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing took millions of taxpayer dollars meant for resident care, leaving the home greatly understaffed. Two residents died from utter neglect, one falling and strangling herself when her nightgown caught on a door handle, the other dying from lack of medication and care. Both deaths were discovered long after they had happened. Other residents had to be hospitalized from not receiving necessary care. The owners had begun their fraud began shortly after they bought the nursing home in 2013, withdrawing tens of millions of dollars for their own use. Between 2015 and 2022, they paid themselves out of Medicaid and Medicare funds and inflated their own salaries.    

In June, following through on her warnings made in January, Attorney General James announced settlements with and lawsuits against more than 20 transportation companies for defrauding Medicaid. The companies, located throughout New York, had used fraudulent billing practices to steal Medicaid funds. Common schemes included billing for fake trips, adding bogus toll charges, padding trip mileage, and using unlicensed drivers. Some companies took advantage of vulnerable patients by illegally paying them to cooperate in the schemes. Sixteen companies agreed to pay a total of more than $13 million, with the highest settlement being for nearly $5 million. In addition, Attorney General James sued seven more companies that had ignored OAG’s earlier orders to stop their fraudulent practices. These actions were highlighted by the Inspector General of the HHS and DOJ as New York’s contribution to the annual National Healthcare Fraud Takedown. 

In August, Attorney General James reached an agreement with MVP Health Plan to reform MVP’s directory of mental health providers. This is the first resolution to result from the OAG’s 2023 report “Inaccurate and Inadequate: Health Plans’ Mental Health Provider Directories” that conducted a statewide “secret shopper” survey of health plans by calling selected providers listed on the health plan’s directories as if they were consumers looking for treatment. That investigation found that all of the MVP mental health providers called — who had been listed in the directory as accepting new patients — were either unreachable or not accepting new patients, and that MVP had no process to verify provider’s availability. These significant mistakes in the directory left MVP patients unable to reach providers and obtain necessary mental health care, or forced them to pay unnecessary out-of-pocket costs. Attorney General James has required MVP to correct the directory listings, create a process to pay affected members back their unnecessary expenses, and pay a penalty.     

In February, Attorney General James secured a historic settlement with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to end abuse and misconduct. Following professional soccer players’ complaints of harassment, sexual abuse, and discrimination, Attorney General James conducted an investigation with the attorneys general of Illinois and Washington, D.C. The NWSL agreed to create a $5 million fund to compensate harmed players. It will also put policies in place to improve player safety. The attorneys general also have the ability to oversee and enforce these policies, which include rigorous vetting of coaches, preventing harassment and bullying, and ensuring that coaches cannot have complete control over player housing or medical decisions. 

Standing Up for Workers and Fair Workplaces 

Winning back $1.5 million for mistreated construction workers  

In October, Attorney General James secured $1.5 million for workers whose rights were violated by a New York City construction company. The company, Alba Services Inc., punished workers who were injured on the job and sought to apply for workers’ compensation benefits. The company also sexually harassed some workers. At Alba and its associated companies, more than 700 workers were harmed by these abuses between 2016 and 2025. The OAG conducted an investigation and found the companies had warned workers not to file workers’ compensation claims and failed to report injuries to the Workers’ Compensation Board. The companies harassed and retaliated against workers who filed claims. Alba sent employees to specific health care providers that cooperated to hide the workplace injuries. In addition, a manager sexually harassed some workers and fired one in retaliation for filing a complaint. Immigrant and non-union workers were especially harmed by Alba’s mistreatment. Under Attorney General James’ settlement, the company must pay $1.4 million to affected workers, pay $100,000 for a settlement administrator, and reform its practices to protect workers’ rights.    

Attorney General James sued United Parcel Service (UPS) in December for cheating delivery workers out of their wages for years. An OAG investigation found that the company made seasonal workers put in extra unpaid hours and shortchanged them on their wages. UPS cheated the workers out of millions of dollars by making them work off the clock, not recording all hours they had worked, and manipulating timekeeping systems. Seasonal workers keep the company running during the busy holiday season, working long hours in cold, wintry weather. The OAG investigation found that UPS failed to pay workers for waiting for packages, traveling between assignments, taking training courses, returning undelivered packages, and doing other tasks. In addition, the company made workers wait to clock in — sometimes for hours — and charged workers for meal breaks they had not taken. UPS also edited workers’ timesheets to reduce their hours and did not pay legally required overtime. Attorney General James is asking the court to order UPS to pay current and former seasonal workers the wages they are due. 

Con Ed agreed in March to reform its workplace programs to address harassment and discrimination complaints from women employees and workers of color. Attorney General James investigated the utility company after workers complained about a hostile workplace and other types of unfair treatment. Attorney General James required Con Ed to reform its illegal and harmful practices. In addition, she recovered $750,000 for 17 employees who were harmed by the harassment and discrimination. Women experienced sexist comments and were criticized for their physical appearance and clothing. Some received unwanted sexual attention. Some male workers refused to work with them simply because they were female, or told them they did not deserve to have their jobs. The harassment and discrimination were especially bad for women in field positions. The company’s management often failed to investigate or discipline those who committed harassment or discrimination. Under the settlement Attorney General James negotiated, the company must reform its practices, begin new training for harassment investigators, and hire an independent monitor to oversee the reforms. 

Attorney General James secured more than $54 million in damages for hospital workers whose pension funds were lost by the hospital’s leadership. More than 1,100 workers at St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady lost their pension payments because of mismanagement. The suit named the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, which sponsored the hospital, and the hospital’s former leadership. The jury’s verdict in our favor was reached after six weeks of trial and found all of the defendants liable, including the two bishops who sat on the hospital’s board and other senior executives. In addition to awarding the pensioners $54.2 million in unpaid pension benefits, the jury found that punitive damages were warranted. 

Attorney General James secured $148,000 for about 200 union workers who were cheated of their sick leave by their employer. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SouthernTier did not provide paid sick leave to union workers while giving it to nonunionized workers. Between September 2020 and April 2022, workers from Local 112 and Sheet Metal Workers Local 58 were deprived of critical sick leave.  Under the settlement, the company will pay the affected workers more than $148,000 and pay up to $13,000 for settlement administration.   

In March, Attorney General James sued Allstate and other insurance companies for not protecting New Yorkers’ personal data from cyberattacks. Two separate incidents exposed the drivers' license numbers of more than 165,000 New Yorkers. After the first incident, National General did not notify customers or determine whether other sensitive information had been exposed. The company’s failure to act allowed the second, larger breach to happen. Allstate had acquired National General and took over its data security in 2021. 

In October, Attorney General James secured $14.2 million from auto insurance companies that failed to protect New Yorkers’ private information. Hackers stole the companies’ customer data, including the driver license numbers and dates of birth of more than 825,000 New Yorkers. The companies include American Family/Midvale Indemnity, Farmers Insurance, Hagerty Insurance Agency, The Hartford, Infinity Insurance, Liberty Mutual, Metromile, and State Auto. 

All of these cases were part of an industry-wide investigation of a data breach. The hackers used the stolen information to file fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The OAG investigated and found that the companies did not use reasonable data-security controls to protect the data. The companies must upgrade their data security in addition to paying the penalties.   

In October, an accounting firm agreed to improve its security to protect consumers’ data, following an investigation by Attorney General James. In addition to adopting stronger security, the company will pay $60,000 in penalties. OAG’s investigation found that the firm, Wojeski & Company, based in Albany, did not properly safeguard clients’ personal information. The company suffered a ransomware attack in July 2023 and a data breach in May 2024. The company did not alert customers to either incident until November 2024. More than 4,700 New Yorkers’ personal information was compromised, including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and contact information.      

Attorney General James got $500,000 in December from a medical practice that did not protect individuals’ private information. OrthopedicsNY, which operates clinics and surgery centers across the Capital Region, exposed the data of its patients and employees. The company did not use reasonable data security practices to protect this information. In 2023, cyberattackers were able to steal information, including Social Security, driver-license, and passport numbers, from about 656,000 people. In addition to paying the penalties, OrthopedicsNY will pay for credit monitoring for the affected people and adopt better measures to protect patient information.  

Attorney General James urged Meta to protect users from fraudulent investment ads on Facebook. Promising unrealistic returns, the ads had lured potentially tens of thousands of vulnerable people into schemes in which they lost hundreds of millions of dollars. Attorney General James, leading a coalition of 42 attorneys general, called on Meta to stop the fraudulent ads on Facebook. The coalition urged Meta to use robust preventive measures to check ads before they run. If the company is unable to prevent the harmful scams, the attorneys general recommended that Meta stop running investment ads altogether. 

In January, Attorney General James recovered $106 million from Vanguard Group, an investment advisor. The company had lowered minimum requirements on one of its retirement funds without telling investors that they would have higher taxes. The change caused hundreds of thousands of investors to owe much more in capital gains taxes than they expected. More than 15,000 New Yorkers were affected. Attorney General James worked with a coalition of 45 securities regulators to negotiate this settlement. 

Protecting Investors from Fraud, Deception, and Cryptocurrency Abuse 

Protecting Haitian community investors from financial fraud  

In August, Attorney General James secured the arrest of a former New Yorker who defrauded the Haitian community in New York, Georgia, and Florida. The man, who had moved to Florida, is charged with stealing more than $600,000 from investors. Between 2020 and 2023, the fraudster allegedly used investors’ money to make his own financial trades, pay his own expenses, buy expensive luxury items and trips, and repay earlier investors. He advertised himself as a successful trader, guaranteed impossibly high returns, and encouraged investors to recommend others to him. He showed investors a fake banking account and fake trading screens. Attorney General James warned New Yorkers to be wary of fraudsters and be careful with their investments.  

Over the course of 2025, Attorney General James advised Congress that without additional changes to federal cryptocurrency bills, national security as well as investors would remain at risk. Attorney General James wrote to Congress on April 8th, and provided statements to Congress on June 6th and July 9th. On September 5th, Attorney General James joined a bipartisan coalition of States demanding that Congress preserve State anti-fraud enforcement authority in digital assets market structure legislation. 

In June, Attorney General James stopped overseas cryptocurrency scammers from victimizing New Yorkers. The Vietnam-based scammers targeted Russian-speaking investors through social media, luring them into investing in fake trading platforms. Ads on social media promised high returns on cryptocurrency and other investments. The ads were aimed at Russian speakers, most of whom were in Brooklyn. After collecting millions of dollars from hundreds of victims, the scammers disappeared with the money. The OAG got a court order freezing $300,000 of cryptocurrency linked with the scammers. Meta, the social media used by the scammers, shut down hundreds of accounts associated with the scams. In addition to freezing the funds, Attorney General James worked with local authorities to alert victims, recover some of the stolen funds, and educate consumers about investment scams. 

In January, Attorney General James sued text messaging scammers who were stealing money from people looking for remote work. She seeks to recover $2.2 million worth of cryptocurrency in the thieves’ digital wallets. Her investigation, aided by the U.S. Secret Service and the Queens County District Attorney, found that scammers had been sending text messages offering fake remote jobs to unsuspecting people in New York and other states. They tricked the victims into buying cryptocurrency and place it in the scammers’ digital wallets. Although victims bought legal “stablecoin” cryptocurrency from registered, licensed platforms, the stablecoin became difficult to trace when it was transferred. In addition, the wallets’ owners became practically impossible to identify. One New York victim lost more than $100,000 to a fraudster. Attorney General James’ lawsuit seeks to deposit a nonfungible token (NFT) in the wallets used to steal victims’ cryptocurrency. The NFT would contain a notice that the wallets’ owners are being sued. This would be the first time a state or federal U.S. regulator has used this method to serve a lawsuit.    

Protecting Investors from Fraud, Deception, and Cryptocurrency Abuse 

Stopping illegal online gambling      

In June, Attorney General James stopped online casinos from illegally allowing New Yorkers to gamble. She found 26 online platforms that were offering players casino games and sports events using virtual “sweepstakes coins.” New York law prohibits online gambling that risks anything of value, including virtual coins that could be exchanged for cash or prizes. These online casinos are not overseen by the state, and so could cheat New Yorkers in many ways: through rigging games, not paying winners, or violating other consumer laws. Online casinos offer an easy path to gambling addiction, especially for young New Yorkers. In addition, the unregulated platforms could easily take and misuse players’ personal information. As a result of Attorney General James’ actions, the 26 casinos stopped selling sweepstakes coins in New York. 

Mercedes-Benz USA agreed to pay $150 million for violating emissions and consumer protection laws. Attorney General James and 50 other attorneys general reached the settlement with Mercedes in December. On thousands of its diesel vehicles, the company had used software to cheat on emissions tests, mislead consumers, and pollute the environment. The OAG had begun investigating Mercedes in 2020, finding that the company had installed secret software that masked the true the amount of pollution the vehicles created.

Protecting New Yorkers from Environmental Harm  

Saving bees, birds, and butterflies to help pollinate New York 

Attorney General James in June awarded $3.73 million in grants to help conserve pollinators in New York. The awards are part of the New York Pollinator Conservation Fund, a multimillion-dollar initiative launched by OAG. The funds came from Attorney General James’ 2023 settlement with Bayer CropScience and Monsanto for misleading consumers about the safety of certain consumer weedkillers. The weedkillers can be toxic to pollinator species like bees and butterflies. Additional funds were given by The New York Community Trust, a foundation that supports charitable work throughout New York. The grants will fund initiatives to restore habitat, manage lands, educate the public, and foster community science. Projects range from restoring butterfly populations to transforming parks into thriving pollinator hubs. Many involve partnerships with local farmers, municipal agencies, and conservation experts. The grants will go to 35 organizations throughout the state. 

Protecting New Yorkers from Environmental Harm  

Securing $1.1 million from beef company for misleading climate protection claims 

In November, Attorney General James secured $1.1 million from the world’s largest beef producer to help protect the environment. The company, JBS USA Food Company, agreed to a settlement for misleading the public about  JBS’s commitment to reduce its climate pollution emissions. The company had advertised that it would reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, but had no plans to actually do so. Under the settlement, JBS will pay $1.1 million to support climate-smart agriculture programs that help New York farmers operate more sustainably. The programs will help farmers use best practices to reduce their climate pollution emissions while enhancing their productivity.   

Protecting New Yorkers from Environmental Harm  

Protecting wetlands from an illegal waste dumper  

In June, Attorney General James secured $100,000 from a property owner who illegally dumped waste on land in Dutchess County. Years ago, Salvatore Cascino had polluted his property near sensitive freshwater wetlands with waste from his company, Ten Mile River LLC. Under a 2019 settlement with OAG and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), he had agreed to clean up the illegal pollution. But in 2024 DEC found that he had not cleaned up the site. In the most recent development, a court ordered him to clean up the site, fix the damage to the environment, and pay a $100,000 penalty. If he does not complete the cleanup on schedule, Cascino will have to pay another $99,200.