2025 Press Releases

Page 13 of 13

• 1/15/2025 Attorney General Tong, Mayor Simmons, Stamford Police, State Department of Consumer Protection, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Labor Announce Confiscation of More Than 135 LBS of Illegal Cannabis

  Attorney General William Tong, Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, Stamford Police Chief Tim Shaw, Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli, Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell Higgins, Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Mark Boughton, and Department of Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo today announced results of a December raid on Stamford smoke shops, netting more than 135 pounds of illegal cannabis products from eight shops found violating numerous criminal and civil statutes including illegal drug sales, underage sales, labor violations, and tax violations.

• 1/14/2025 Attorney General Tong Announces $1.5 Million Settlement with Carvana Following Hundreds of Consumer Complaints

  Attorney General William Tong today announced a $1.5 million settlement with online used car dealer Carvana following hundreds of consumer complaints involving extended delays in title and registration documents, delayed payments to sellers, and deceptive representations of car conditions and features, among other complaints.

• 1/10/2025 Attorney General Tong Announces $5 Million Preliminary Settlement With Stone Academy and Its Owners

  Attorney General William Tong announced today a $5 million preliminary settlement has been reached with Stone Academy and its owners to resolve claims filed by the State and former students involving unfair and deceptive conduct at the defunct for-profit nursing school.

• 1/7/2025 Attorney General Tong Announces States, Justice Department Sue Six Large Landlords for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters

  Attorney General William Tong today joined the U.S. Department of Justice and nine other states filing an amended complaint in its antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, suing six of the nation’s largest landlords for participating in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.

• 1/7/2025 Attorney General Tong Announces $608,296 False Claims Settlement With Dentist Over Prohibited Patient Recruiting Fees

  Attorney General William Tong and United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery today announced a $608,296 settlement agreement with Lakshmi Bethi, DMD (“Bethi”) and her business entities, New Haven Family Dental LLC, New Haven Family Dental Group LLC; and New Haven Dental LLC and, resolving allegations that they violated state and federal False Claims Act statutes through prohibited fees paid to a “patient recruiting” company.

• 1/2/2025 Attorney General Tong Announces New Haven Psychiatrist to Pay More Than 450K to Settle False Claims and Controlled Substances Act

  Attorney General William Tong, Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England today announced that Naimetulla Ahmed Syed has entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments and agreed to pay $455,439.26 to resolve allegations that he violated the federal and state False Claims Acts and the civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) relating to his issuance of medically unnecessary controlled substances prescriptions.