Penalty Amount
$384,192,156
Connecticut joined 39 other states and the federal government in a $384 million False Claims Act settlement with Abbott Laboratories over allegations that the company failed to manufacture powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products in compliance with federal and state requirements at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona facilities. Abbott allegedly manufactured formula in conditions that risked microorganism contamination and failed to disclose contamination test results to the FDA during 2019 and 2022 inspections. The settlement resolves claims that Abbott caused false claims to be submitted to the WIC program and state Medicaid programs between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022.
Abbott will pay $348,700,868 to the United States to resolve federal False Claims Act allegations and $35,491,288 to participating states for claims related to their state Medicaid programs, for a total of $384,192,156. Connecticut's share attributable to its Medicaid program is $936,629.70.
This enforcement action centered on Abbott's failure to meet 'statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements' in manufacturing products sold to government programs, so in-house teams (particularly in healthcare, food, and manufacturing) should review government contracts and vendor agreements for compliance-with-law representations, quality control and manufacturing standards clauses, and warranties of regulatory conformity. Contracts should include explicit obligations to disclose adverse test results, inspection findings, or contamination events to customers and regulators promptly, along with audit rights allowing counterparties to verify manufacturing facility compliance. Vendor agreements with suppliers to regulated facilities should flow down FDA (and analogous) manufacturing requirements, and customer contracts for government-funded programs (WIC, Medicaid) should contain certifications, indemnification for false claims liability, and cooperation obligations during regulatory inspections.
Entity
Abbott Laboratories
Industry
Healthcare"an agreement with Abbott Laboratories (Abbott) to settle allegations that the company caused false claims to be submitted to federal and state programs"
"will pay $348,700,868 to the United States to resolve the False Claims Act allegations and $35,491,288 to participating States for claims related to their state Medicaid programs"
"initially filed in 2022 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan under the federal False Claims Act and various state false claims statutes"
"Abbott allegedly failed to maintain its manufacturing equipment, failed to control the presence of water that put the products at increased risk of microorganism contamination, and, in certain instances, failed to disclose test results indicating the presence of microorganism contamination"
"Connecticut has joined 39 other states and the federal government to reach an agreement with Abbott Laboratories"
$384.2M
Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay more than $384 million — including $977,558 to Oregon — to resolve allegations that it sold powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products made in unsafe manufacturing conditions to Medicaid and food assistance programs such as WIC between January 2018 and December 2022. Investigators found Abbott failed to maintain manufacturing equipment and control water at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona, facilities, and withheld test results showing contamination during FDA inspections in 2019 and 2022. The settlement was negotiated by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units on behalf of the federal government and 39 states.
$694.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 40 other state attorneys general in a settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), one of the nation's largest subprime auto lenders, resolving allegations that CAC originated loans it knew or should have known consumers could not afford and encouraged or failed to prevent dealers from 'packing' CAC loans with unwanted Vehicle Service Contract (VSC) and GAP products. The settlement, announced September 17, 2026 and effective November 2, 2026, directs $694 million in cash restitution and debt relief to consumers, plus an additional $15 million to the states, and imposes injunctive lending reforms. Note: this is a consumer-protection/lending enforcement action rather than a data privacy matter; the violation categories are best-fit mappings to the available taxonomy.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued an advisory that newly enacted privacy laws take effect October 1, 2026, including Public Act 26-64 (SB4), which amends the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, and Public Act 26-15 (SB5), which established the Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Responsibility and Transparency Act (CART Act). The new laws regulate surveillance pricing, facial recognition technology, genetic data collected by direct-to-consumer testing companies, a ban on the sale of precise geolocation data, a data broker registry, AI use in employment decisions, and chatbots offered to children. No enforcement action was taken; this is prospective guidance alerting consumers and businesses to new rights and compliance requirements.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 16 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, warning it would preempt state authority to protect investors from cryptocurrency fraud and scams. The coalition urges Congress to preserve state enforcement, registration, and federal-state cooperation roles over digital assets. This is a legislative advocacy action, not an enforcement action — no entity was charged, no violations were found, and no penalty was imposed.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a civil investigative demand into MediaLab.AI Inc., owner of the Kik Messenger app, over lax age assurance practices, content moderation, and child safety failures that advocates have dubbed a "predator's paradise." The action follows a July 2025 notice of violation under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act for privacy notice deficiencies and processing sensitive data — including health, biometric, and precise geolocation data — without proper consent, which the company has only partially addressed. The new investigation seeks records related to practices that may constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the CTDPA and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. No fine has been imposed to date.
Attorney General William Tong issued a consumer alert warning Connecticut residents about unregulated, offshore decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency exchanges, naming GMX, Gains Network, dYdX, Aevo, Drift Protocol, Vertex Protocol, and Hyperliquid. The alert highlights risks including bypassing U.S. law via VPNs, predatory leverage up to 250x, misleading synthetic asset products, and lack of KYC protections. No enforcement action or penalty was imposed; at least one Connecticut consumer reportedly lost $200,000 deposited with an unregulated DeFi exchange.