Cannoli Factory Feels the Heat over Alleged Wage Theft

• Massachusetts AG Maura Healey reached a settlement with bakery Golden Cannoli Shells Co., Inc. and related individuals (collectively, “Golden Cannoli”) to resolve allegations of wage theft in violation of Massachusetts’s wage and hour laws.
• According to the AG’s office, Golden Cannoli failed to pay workers for all hours worked, did not provide notice of a compliant earned sick time policy, unlawfully fired workers in retaliation for asserting their rights, and failed to produce accurate timekeeping and payroll records.
• Under the terms of the settlement, Golden Cannoli will pay $80,000 in restitution for impacted workers and $25,000 in penalties, and must abide by all applicable wage and hour laws and to submit copies of its timekeeping, payroll, and earned sick time records to the AG’s office for one year, among other things.

California Attorney General Reminds Healthcare Entities of Responsibility for Customer Data

• California AG Rob Bonta sent a bulletin to healthcare organizations, including the California Hospital Association, the California Medical Association, and the California Dental Association, reminding healthcare facilities and providers of their obligation to comply with state and federal health data privacy laws.
• The bulletin stresses that healthcare entities must notify the California Department of Justice (“DOJ”) when they experience a data breach that impacts more than 500 California residents so that the DOJ can notify the public of the breach. According to the AG’s office, the bulletin was sent after multiple California healthcare entities failed to report ransomware attacks, and an October 2020 joint report by several federal government agencies citing credible imminent cybercrime threats to U.S. healthcare entities.
• The bulletin urges healthcare entities to proactively protect patient data from ransomware attacks by applying the latest patches to operating systems and software, installing virus protection software, regularly training staff on data security best practices, and restricting the ability of staff to download, install, and run unapproved software, among other things.

Bipartisan Group of Attorneys General Urges FDA to Regulate E-Cigarettes and Oral Nicotine Products

• A bipartisan group of 31 AGs, led by the AGs of Idaho, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee, sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) urging it to exercise its regulatory power to curb the availability of nicotine products that appeal to youth.
• The letter cites statistics showing a dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products, such as pouches, by youths and young adults, and argues that many of the nicotine products attractive to youths should not be on the market because they did not receive marketing authorization from the FDA.
• The AGs call on the FDA to combat this trend by banning youth-appealing flavors in e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products, limiting their nicotine levels, restricting the marketing of such products, and to deny approval of Premarket Tobacco Product Applications for products that are likely to appeal to youths and to increase nicotine use in that age group.

Republican and Democratic AG Groups Submit Comments to ATF on Proposed Rule Clarifying Scope of Gun Control Act

• A group of 20 Republican AGs, led by Arizona AG Mark Brnovich and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, and a separate group of 22 Democratic AGs, led by District of Columbia AG Karl Racine, New Jersey Acting AG Andrew Bruck, and Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro, sent comment letters to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) regarding the ATF’s proposed rule, Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms (“Proposed Rule”), which would revise definitions in the Gun Control Act (“Act”) to clarify that weapon kits and incomplete weapon parts are covered by the Act.
• The Republican AGs’ letter opposes the Proposed Rule, arguing that it would infringe upon the Second Amendment and impermissibly expand the ATF’s regulation of firearm parts, including by requiring that each part bear a serial number; that the AFT may not expand its own authority beyond the original congressional intent through broadening statutory definitions; and that the ATF failed to fully consider the costs associated with the Proposed Rule, among other things.
• The Democratic AGs’ letter supports the Proposed Rule, arguing that it would help reduce gun violence by reducing the availability of untraceable “ghost guns”; that overly narrow interpretations of the Act have allowed loopholes for firearm dealers to promote and sell “ghost guns” without background checks and to individuals that are otherwise banned from owning firearms under the Act; and that the Proposed Rule would clarify the broad range of modern firearms that the Act is meant to cover.

Alleged Scammer Used Low-Income Individuals’ Personal Information to Submit $4 Million in False Claims

• New York AG Letitia James sued Leslie Montgomery, d/b/a Healthy Living Community Center, and several companies owned and controlled by her, including LCM Livery P/U, Inc. (collectively “Montgomery”), over allegations that Montgomery used fraudulently obtained personal information to submit false claims to a Medicaid-funded organization in violation of the New York State False Claims Act, Section 145-b of New York’s Social Services Law, and other state laws.
• The complaint alleges that Montgomery used advertisements for a fake housing assistance program to lure low-income individuals into providing their Medicaid numbers and other personal information, and then used that information to submit false claims totaling more than $4 million to the Medicaid-funded MetroPlus program for custom-molded back braces that were unnecessary, and never ordered by or provided to patients.
• The complaint seeks forfeiture of proceeds, treble and exemplary damages, interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. Leslie Montgomery and LCM Livery are also under indictment in a parallel criminal proceeding.