Attorney General Tong joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in sending letters to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board, urging them to deny Opportunity Financial's application to acquire BNC National Bank. The merger would grant OppFi a national bank charter, allowing it to circumvent state lending laws and charge triple-digit interest rates, posing risks to consumers and the banking system.
In-house legal teams should review any agreements with lenders, banking partners, or financial institutions to ensure compliance with state lending laws and interest rate caps. They should check for change of control provisions that might be triggered by mergers or acquisitions, and ensure that counterparties cannot circumvent state consumer protection laws through federal preemption. Additionally, they should review any 'rent-a-bank' arrangements or partnerships with national banks to assess the risk of high-cost lending practices.
Entity
Opportunity Financial, LLC
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2026-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-joins-coalition-urging-federal-government-to-deny-opportunity-financial-merger
occ oppfi comment letter final
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/press_releases/2026/occ_oppfi-comment-letter_final.pdf
frb oppfi comment letter final
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/press_releases/2026/frb_oppfi-comment-letter_final.pdf
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
"Opportunity Financials’ (OppFi)"
"National Bank Act"
"circumvent longstanding state lending laws"
$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.
$384.2M
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.
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.