Notices
Public legal notices and court announcements
AG Jepsen: States Reach $68M Settlement with UBS for LIBOR Manipulation
AG Jepsen States Reach $68M Settlement with UBS for LIBOR Manipulation Under a $68 million multistate settlement agreement, UBS AG will pay $64.6 million in restitution to government and nonprofit entities for its manipulation of benchmark interest rates in the lead up to and early days of the financial crisis, Attorney General George Jepsen announced today. UBS has agreed to pay a total of $68 million to resolve a 40-state multistate investigation – which was led by the states of Connecticut and New York – that revealed that the bank manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, also known as LIBOR, at various times between 2007 and 2010. "Our multistate investigation has developed significant evidence that some banks that were responsible for setting LIBOR rates intentionally manipulated LIBOR in order to protect their public image and to help the business side of their operations be more profitable," Attorney General Jepsen said. "This conduct was improper and unlawful. Our multistate investigation will continue in order to hold accountable those other banks which harmed consumers in Connecticut and across the country." Government and nonprofit entities with LIBOR-linked swaps and other investment contracts with UBS will receive notice if they are eligible to receive restitution from the $64.6 million settlement fund. Connecticut entities are expected to qualify for approximately $750,000 in restitution payments, though qualifying entities are still being determined. The $3.6 million balance of the settlement funds will be used to pay costs and expenses of the investigation, which remains active and ongoing. The states alleged that UBS misrepresented the integrity of LIBOR to state and local government, nonprofit and other counterparties by concealing, misrepresenting and failing to disclose that UBS's U.S. Dollar LIBOR submitters on occasion submitted rates that reflected management directives to "err on the low side" or to stay in the "middle of the pack" to avoid reputational harm, and that UBS manipulated its Yen LIBOR submissions to increase the profits of its derivative traders. LIBOR is a benchmark interest rate that affects financial instruments – including swaps, options and bonds – that are worth trillions of dollars; it has a widespread impact on global markets and consumers, including government and not-for-profit entities. The rate is calculated daily in multiple currencies, including the U.S. dollar, by a panel of banks, and submissions by the individual contributing banks are governed by several criteria designed to maintain the integrity of the rate. The multistate working group of states, led by the attorneys general of Connecticut and New York, includes the attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The states previously reached LIBOR-related settlements with Barclays in 2016, Deutsche Bank in 2017, and CitiBank earlier this year. Former Assistant Attorney General Christopher Haddad and Assistant Attorney General Michael Cole, chief of the Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department, assisted the Attorney General with this matter.
Statement from AG Jepsen on Granting of Temporary Restraining Order in 3-D Printed Firearms Case
Statement from AG Jepsen on Granting of Temporary Restraining Order in 3-D Printed Firearms Case Attorney General George Jepsen today issued the following statement on the order by a federal judge in Seattle granting a temporary restraining order to stop distribution of plans for 3-D printed firearms on the internet: "The court today has wisely ordered the Administration to continue to bar any distribution of plans for 3-D printed firearms for now, and we are grateful for this common-sense action. To allow the federal government to reverse course, without legal justification and in violation of federal law, and to make these weapons easily available to those who might seek to harm Connecticut residents or to jeopardize our national security simply defies logic. We look forward to continuing to aggressively make the case that these types of plans should be permanently barred from public dissemination." Attorney General Jepsen and a coalition of states filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday seeking the temporary restraining order and challenging the State Department's reversal on this issue. Please click here for the announcement of the lawsuit and a copy of the states' complaint.
AG Jepsen, DCP: Conn. Joins $13.5 Million Multistate Settlement with Boehringer Ingelheim
Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today announced that Connecticut is joining with 49 other states and the District of Columbia in a $13.5 million settlement with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to resolve allegations that it engaged in off-label marketing and made deceptive and misleading representations in its promotion of four prescription drugs.
AG Jepsen: State Reaches False Claims Act Settlement with Southington Dental Provider
A Southington dentist will pay $55,000 to settle civil healthcare fraud allegations involving the filing of false and fraudulent claims for payments from Connecticut's Medicaid program, Attorney General George Jepsen said today.
State Joins National Settlement with T-Mobile Over Data Cramming Allegations
Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) Commissioner William M. Rubenstein announced today that Connecticut, along with 49 other states and the District of Columbia, has reached a settlement with mobile telephone company T-Mobile USA to resolve allegations that the company improperly engaged in "data cramming."