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"*AG Rokita speaking with constituents at Ducks Unlimited  *"

*Liberty in Action *

As Indiana’s Attorney General, fighting for your liberty is my top priority. Below are some highlights of our work!

◊ Reviewing Rokita

◊ Seeking Execution Date For Cop Killer

◊ Protecting Hoosier Voters

◊ Combating Antisemitism In Indiana

◊ Protecting Consumers, Stopping Fraudsters

How can we help you? Contact our Office [ [link removed] ] for additional information, resources and more. . 






REVIEWING ROKITA





"AG Todd Rokita and his team have done more to protect individual rights than the last 3 AGs. Whether it's gun rights, fighting criminals, states infringing on our citizens, and fighting to protect the Indiana Constitution....he has shown he's working on the people's behalf." -Mike

"I am proud of your work. Keep it up!" - David

"I’ve said it before, but every time I see the hard work & then the results AG Todd Rokita gets for us Hoosiers in Indiana, I have to say it again -- we have the best AG in the nation, hands down! God bless the honorable Mr. Rokita, his team & our state." -Aaron

"Thank you, Attorney General Todd Rokita, for your vigilance in fighting for the Jewish community." - Lisa

"Sir, Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all you do for all the people of Indiana! I just want you to know that I see how hard you work for all Hoosiers, and how you want us to know the hows and whys of your actions. Kudos for standing up and looking out for all of us." - Sheila

"You have mine and my husband's full support in fighting this gross decision of taxpayers paying for gender changing surgery." -Lisa

"Thank you, Todd, for doing such a great job for us Hoosiers." -Kathy

"You ROCK! Best Indiana AG." -Krystal

"Thank you for addressing this most important antisemitism issue." -Steve

"Thank you for doing this antisemitism event!!" -Gary

"Thanks for all you are doing!" -Theresa

"Thank you for working for Hoosiers and our children. Period." -Bwyzer

"Thank you, Todd Rokita, for protecting Hoosier taxpayers!" -Kristi

"Keep up the great work, Todd!" -Ricand

"Great job as usual with Medicaid Fraud, Attorney General Todd Rokita.” -Rob

"Thank you for fighting for us, Todd!" -Lureen

"Todd Rokita is a wonderful AG. State attorneys general make a huge difference in the direction of the state." -Joe

"Thank you for taking this immigration issue on. The fact that the Biden administration is letting in tens of thousands of hardcore criminals which are taking over areas in neighboring states is super concerning. I want my community to remain safe." -Ronauldo

"Thanks for your leadership and fighting for justice, Todd Rokita!" -Jim

"Thank you for all the good work you’re doing." -Jeremy

"I'm so glad you’re fighting for me. Thank you, Todd" -Jasin

"Thank you for all your doing, Todd!! Hoosiers appreciate all your hard work!" -Carolynn

"You are always on top of stuff. Great job, Todd. You have served Indiana well." -Martha

"Thank you for tackling this God forsaken app! Tech opium is hurting our children, and China needs to be held accountable." -Nancy






AROUND INDIANA

"with Attorney General Todd Rokita"





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October 1: OAG staff attends Brownsburg National Night Out

Our office works tirelessly to help everyday Hoosiers reunite with their unclaimed property. Our team had a great night at Brownsburg National Night Out and had an amazing time educating everyone who stopped by our booth on Unclaimed Property and our Parents Bill of Rights. In 2023, our office returned a record-breaking $81 million in unclaimed funds to hardworking Hoosiers and are on pace to shatter that record again in 2024. Go to indianaunclaimed.gov right now to see if you have any money waiting to be claimed!



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September 28: AG Rokita speaks at Ducks Unlimited event

Attorney General Todd Rokita spoke with a packed house in St. Joseph County! He thanked the St. Joseph Valley Ducks Unlimited Chapter, for their continued leadership and commitment to protecting and advancing our time-honored outdoor traditions.



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September 24: AG Rokita keynotes at NAMFCU Annual Conference

Attorney General Rokita was honored to host the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Unit's annual training conference in Indiana for the first time in 30 years. He said since 2021, we have opened 400 new cases and recovered nearly $87 million in misspent taxpayer funds. Our Medicaid Fraud team and their colleagues around the country are doing excellent work to protect patients and your tax dollars.

 



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September 20: AG Rokita hosts training seminar on antisemitism

AG Rokita recently hosted a training seminar on how to combat the rising antisemitism we are seeing in this state and country. He said this was important legal education, and our office was proud to be leaders on this effort.

Thank you to everyone who attended and to the distinguished speakers: James Barta, Indiana Solicitor General; Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University; and Dr. Allon Friedman, President of the Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana.



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September 19: OAG staff helps educate seniors of scammers

It is always great to partner with the Shelby County Active Aging Coalition for the 2024 Senior Expo. Scammers specifically target seniors and they are getting more and more clever every day. Our team will continue traveling the state to help educate Hoosiers on how to spot and how to avoid these dangerous and evolving schemes.







NEWS ABOUT THE OFFICE





*Attorney General Todd Rokita seeks execution date for convicted killer of Beech Grove cop*

Attorney General Todd Rokita is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to set an execution date for the convicted murderer who fatally shot Beech Grove Police Officer William Toney on Sept. 29, 2000.

“Most Hoosiers and I expect justice without delay, especially when someone murders a police officer, one of the many, many brave men and women we thank and respect daily," Attorney General Rokita said. “This convicted cop killer has been on death row far too long — 22 years — and it's past time for him to pay his debt to society.”

Attorney General Rokita filed a formal motion today asking the Supreme Court to set a date for the execution of Benjamin Ritchie.

For several years, the State of Indiana paused executions due to the Indiana Department of Correction’s difficulty obtaining the drug pentobarbital, which is used to carry out executions. That issue has been resolved.

On Sept. 11, the Indiana Supreme Court set an execution date of Dec. 18 for another convicted murderer, Joseph Corcoran, after Attorney General Rokita filed a motion asking the court to set a date. Corcoran killed four people.

Attached is Attorney General Rokita’s latest motion to the Supreme Court.

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* Ritchie-Motion to Set Execution Date (PDF, file stamped).pdf [ [link removed] ]

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*‘Smurf’ culture makes better cartoon than political fundraising tactic, declares letter to ActBlue*

Attorneys General Todd Rokita and Brenna Bird co-lead 19-state effort to protect elections from fraudulent, foreign and other illegal interference.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird are co-leading a 19-state letter to ActBlue officials seeking information on whether ActBlue has appropriate safeguards in place to combat improper donation activity, including, among other things, the practice of “smurfing” — a type of money laundering in which large donations are broken up in a way that disguises who the money comes from so that donor can skirt contribution limits. 

“Hoosiers deserve to know that the powerful interests funding political campaigns are operating ethically and legally,” Attorney General Rokita said. “They deserve the assurance that elections are being conducted with fairness and integrity rather than rigged in ways that dilute and undermine their own individual votes.”  

Recent reporting suggests that individuals identified on Federal Election Commission filings as having made donations through ActBlue (and other affiliated entities) may not have actually made those donations.  

ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms for election-related donations, has processed billions of dollars in campaign contributions this election cycle.  

To ensure confidence in elections, citizens deserve transparency and assurance that political donations — particularly in such large volumes — are being solicited, made and processed consistent with campaign finance, consumer protection and other state and federal laws.  

The full letter is attached. 

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* 10.1 - ActBlue AG Letter.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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*Attorney General Todd Rokita co-leads national coalition against FCC inmate rules that could dismantle countless local police investigations*

Attorney General Todd Rokita is co-leading a 14-state lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC’s) new rule that could limit phone calls for inmates and prevent local police from performing one of their most basic functions — investigating and preventing crimes by surveilling inmate calls.

By capping the cost for inmates far below any reasonable level, the FCC will impose new costs on taxpayers and deprive state and local authorities of many safety benefits that come from allowing inmates access to audio and video calls. The FCC’s new rule would likely force some jails to eliminate such services altogether — directly undermining the goal of expanding inmate access to calls that the FCC claims it is pursuing.

“Federal bureaucrats at the FCC are trying to dictate to our local sheriffs and state prison administrators how to manage their prison facilities,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Their unlawful tampering runs a very real risk of making our jails and therefore our communities less safe. That’s why we’re stepping forward to protect the interests of sheriffs, correctional officers, the Indiana Department of Correction and all Hoosiers to challenge this rule and defend common sense.”

Attorney General Rokita’s multistate challenge seeks the reversal of unlawful regulations that, among other things, impermissibly intrude into how state and local prisons and jails provide communication services to inmates. The feds’ new inmate phone call rules threaten to dismantle the monitoring of inmate communications — a valuable investigative tool available to local law enforcement.

Granting inmates’ access to communication services — which include both calls and other online services accessible by tablets, such as legal resources and religious materials — helps reduce violence and other disruptive behavior in inmate populations. By monitoring inmate calls, facilities are also able to identify suicide risks and criminal activity and gather information that can help solve crimes. Providing communication services for inmates has become a vital tool that state and local authorities rely on to keep inmates and the public safe. 

By issuing this rule, the FCC has far exceeded its statutory authority to regulate inmate communication services and ignored important safety and economic considerations that should have guided the agency’s decision making.

Attorney General Rokita is co-leading this lawsuit with Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. The 14 states will detail their arguments upon filing their opening brief later this year.

Attached is the states’ petition for review.

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* File Stamped 24-2983.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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*Attorney General Todd Rokita offers legal and law enforcement training to combat rising antisemitism in Indiana*

Attorney General Todd Rokita hosted a training to combat antisemitism on Sept. 20 designed to educate attorneys, law enforcement officers and others on how to stop harassment, intimidation, threats and other forms of illegal and improper conduct rooted in antisemitism. After overwhelming success, the training will now be offered on-demand for one year. 

"Our office is passionately committed to ending antisemitism and after the recent attacks by Iran where at least 180 missiles were fired at Israel, we stand with our closest ally and the Jewish people now more than ever,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This training is just one more step we can take to end antisemitism.”

Attorney General Rokita has always been a strong advocate for the Jewish community. Throughout his years as a public servant — as Secretary of State, a member of Congress and now as Attorney General — he has stood in solidarity with Israel and will continue fighting to preserve religious freedom in the Hoosier state.  

After the horrific events on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents increased across the US, including in Indiana — especially on college campuses — and they remain at troubling levels as colleges resume classes for the fall semester. Therefore, Attorney General Rokita took two additional, important actions. 

On Sept. 10, the Attorney General’s Office issued an official advisory opinion [ [link removed] ] explaining how the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Indiana Civil Rights Act provide 1) statutory protections protecting students and employees in educational settings and 2) the authority and obligations of schools and universities to combat antisemitism in educational settings. 

On Sept. 20, Attorney General Rokita organized a training seminar to combat antisemitism for attorneys and law enforcement officials to stop these terrible trends in Indiana.  Due to its overwhelming success, the Attorney General’s Office is now offering this training virtually, on-demand for one year. Attorneys and law enforcement can receive up to 3 CLE and LE credit hours.  

The Attorney General’s Office extends its thanks to everyone who attended and to the distinguished speakers: James Barta, Indiana Solicitor General; Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University; and Dr. Allon Friedman, President of the Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana. 

Access the training module and presentation materials here [ [link removed] ]. 

###

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*Home improvements: Dishonest concrete company deconstructed by Attorney General Todd Rokita for ripping off Hoosier consumers*

"Home improvement contractor ordered to pay nearly $350K in restitution"

Attorney General Todd Rokita has taken down another group of businesses engaged is shady practices that violate the standards that Hoosier consumers have a right to expect. 

This time, it’s a home-improvement contractor who allegedly tried running off with hundreds of thousands of dollars collected from hard-working homeowners without providing the anticipated services. 

“Here in Indiana, we won’t tolerate businesses that collect payment and then fail to do the work they promised,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We will always work to hold accountable businesses that violate the trust placed in them by hard-working Hoosiers.” 

Attorney General Rokita and his Consumer Protection team won a combination judgment of both civil penalties and restitution totaling $341,006.81 on behalf of numerous Hoosiers duped by Quest Concrete LLC and Cobraro & Company LLC — doing business as Quest Exteriors. These are an intertwining network of “home improvement” contractors that allegedly improved nothing but the businesses’ own financial situations.  

Rokita commends Deputy Attorney General Tamara Weaver for her hard work in removing Quest Concrete and their affiliates from the Indiana marketplace and for helping to win the nearly $350,000 restitution order from the court.

The filed copy is attached.  

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* Quest_Filed.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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*Attorney General Todd Rokita announces $52 million multistate settlement with Marriott over data breach which targeted guests’ reservation info*

Attorney General Todd Rokita announced today that a coalition of 50 attorneys general has reached a settlement with Marriott International Inc., the result of a multi-year investigation into a massive data breach which targeted one of its guest reservation databases.  

Under the settlement with the attorneys general, Marriott has agreed to strengthen its data security practices using a dynamic risk-based approach, to provide certain consumer protections, and to make a $52 million payment to states.  

Indiana will receive over $900,000 from the settlement. 

“Protecting Hoosiers’ personal data, whether they are checking into a hotel or just checking out potential travel plans, is an important priority of our office,” Attorney General Rokita said. “That’s why we hold corporations accountable if they don't handle consumers’ information responsibly. This settlement shows once again our resolve to make sure corporations are vigilant in following security protocols.”

The Federal Trade Commission, which has coordinated closely with the states throughout this investigation, has reached a parallel settlement with Marriott. 

Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016 and took control of the Starwood computer network in 2016.  However, from July 2014 until September 2018, intruders in the system went undetected. This led to the breach of 131.5 million guest records pertaining to customers in the United States. The impacted records included contact information, gender, dates of birth, legacy Starwood Preferred Guest information, reservation information, and hotel stay preferences, as well as a limited number of unencrypted passport numbers and unexpired payment card information. 

Shortly after the breach of the Starwood database was announced, a coalition of 50 attorneys general launched a multi-state investigation into the breach. Today’s settlement resolves allegations by the attorneys general that Marriott violated state consumer protection laws, personal information protection laws, and, where applicable, breach notification laws by failing to implement reasonable data security and remediate data security deficiencies, particularly when attempting to use and integrate Starwood into its systems. 

Under the terms of the settlement, Marriott has agreed to strengthen and continually improve its cybersecurity practices. Some of the specific measures include: 


* Implementation of a comprehensive Information Security Program. This includes new overarching security program mandates, such as incorporating zero-trust principles, regular security reporting to the highest levels within the company, including the Chief Executive Officer, and enhanced employee training on data handling and security. 

* Data minimization and disposal requirements, which will lead to less consumer data being collected and retained. 

* Specific security requirements with respect to consumer data, including component hardening, conducting an asset inventory, encryption, segmentation to limit an intruder’s ability to move across a system, patch management to ensure that critical security patches are applied in a timely manner, intrusion detection, user access controls, and logging and monitoring to keep track of movement of files and users within the network.  

* Increased vendor and franchisee oversight, with a special emphasis on risk assessments for “Critical IT Vendors,” and clearly outlined contracts with cloud providers. 

* In the future, if Marriott acquires another entity, it must timely further assess the acquired entity’s information security program and develop plans to address identified gaps or deficiencies in security as part of the integration into Marriott’s network. 

* An independent third-party assessment of Marriott’s information security program every two years for a period of 20 years for additional security oversight. 

As part of the settlement, Marriott will give consumers specific protections, including a data deletion option, even if consumers do not currently have that right under state law. Marriott must offer multi-factor authentication to consumers for their loyalty rewards accounts, such as Marriott Bonvoy, as well as reviews of those accounts if there is suspicious activity.    

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* Marriott - Complaint - File Stamped.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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*In latest welfare fraud win, Attorney General Todd Rokita secures six-figure settlement & criminal conviction against Highland home health provider*

A years-long investigation into a home health care provider in Highland, Indiana, has resulted in a $217,000 settlement and criminal conviction obtained through the hard work of Attorney General Todd Rokita’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). 

Following a tip, MFCU investigators discovered that Allpoints Home Health Care Inc. billed the Medicaid program for thousands of hours not actually worked. In all, the business was found to have submitted 1,055 false claims. 

“Week after week, our nationally renowned Medicaid Fraud Control Unit does outstanding and incredibly thorough work on behalf of Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “And of all the types of fraud committed, what is more sinister than stealing money which was intended to help low-income sick people pay their health care bills?” 

In some instances, the perpetrators were particularly sloppy in their falsification of records — such as claiming to provide home health care to one patient during a time when that individual was hospitalized and not even at home to receive the purported home services. 

As part of the investigation, MFCU staff analyzed claims submitted to Medicaid, interviewed Allpoints employees, reviewed medical records and perused Electronic Visit Verification sheets.  

By the time all the facts were gathered, investigators had enough evidence not only to pursue a settlement but also to work with the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office to achieve a criminal conviction as well.  

Mohammad Adnan Satti — the employee who prepared and submitted the majority of the false claims — was convicted for felony theft and sentenced to 18 months suspended jail time as part of a plea agreement.  

Allpoints agreed to pay Indiana $217,019.61 in exchange for escaping civil liability for violations of the Indiana Medicaid False Claims and Whistleblower Protection Act. That’s three times the overpayments identified by our team’s analysis of the claims data. 

Attorney General Rokita thanked MFCU Director Matt Whitmire, Deputy Attorney General Jeremy Johnson and former Deputy Attorney General Jordan Stover for their work on this case. 

The Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a federal grant. The remaining 25 percent is funded by the State of Indiana. 

The settlement agreement is attached. 

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* Allpoints Settlement.pdf [ [link removed] ]

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*Autumn leaves are falling, time to harvest recalls*

"Attorney General Todd Rokita raises awareness for consumers of harmful household products recalled in September"

Attorney General Todd Rokita is alerting Hoosiers of important consumer protection concerns for products recalled in September. The office encourages consumers to take advantage of opportunities available for those who purchase recalled items that could be harmful to their families.    

“Hoosiers deserve protection from products that don’t work and should not have to tolerate them,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said. “If you purchased an item in September that has been recalled, you should immediately stop using the product and see what forms of reimbursement the company that sold or manufactured the product is offering.”

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, click here [ [link removed] ] to see all of the consumer products that were recalled in September.

If you believe you recently purchased a recalled product, stop using it, and check its recall notice (linked above for all products). Then follow the notice’s instructions, including where to return the product, how to get the product fixed, how to dispose of the product, how to receive a refund for the product, or what steps must be taken to receive a replacement product.   

To view recalls issued prior to June visit the Consumer Protection Safety Commission website [ [link removed] ].    

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