State Attorneys General Update: COVID-19 Crisis
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.27.20
During times of disaster such as the COVID-19 crisis, State Attorneys General are focused on consumer protection and charity scams. Top issues we have seen to date include:
- Price Gouging: Attorneys General are very active ensuring consumers are not being price gouged for products and services in high demand. They are focused on retailers, and companies in the supply chains for both brick and mortar and online retailers. Attorneys General are also working with online platforms for third-party sellers to stop price gouging.
- False Advertising: Many states have sounded the alarm over product claims that either prevent or cure COVID-19 or related health claims. A company’s claim about the value of their products or services regarding the virus or other similar issues should expect scrutiny by the AGs and their staff. Some states have also identified scammers, including falsely offering credit for COVID-19 testing kits to induce consumers to provide their account information and mailing address.
- Refunds and Cancellations: Many Attorneys General are seeking to protect consumers from a diminution, interruption or cancellation of on-going contracts for goods and services that are interrupted because of cancellations or inability to perform.
- Charities: Attorneys General are issuing warnings to consumers of fake charities raising money for phony victims of the COVID-19 disease. Attorneys General will also look at the accuracy of promotional sales to benefit charities when retail advertisers promise a portion of each sale to a specified charity.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
