Attorney General William Tong and Stamford Police confiscated thousands of illegal delta-8 THC cannabis products from three Stamford vape shops. The products, which mimic youth-oriented snacks like Oreos and Cheetos, are unregulated and untested. Legal action is being prepared against the shops for violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Confiscation of illegal THC products and initiation of civil lawsuits under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, which may result in injunctions and penalties against the retailers.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with cannabis product suppliers, distribution agreements, and customer/retailer contracts to ensure clauses mandate strict compliance with state-specific cannabis regulations (e.g., THC limits, product testing, and packaging rules). Specific clauses to scrutinize include product compliance certifications, representations and warranties regarding legality, marketing restrictions (especially prohibitions on youth-oriented designs), age verification requirements, and termination provisions for illegal sales. Updates may be needed to require suppliers to provide lab test results, prohibit the sale of unregulated analogs like delta-8 THCO, and include audit rights to verify adherence to Connecticut's cannabis and unfair trade practices laws.
Entity
Zaza Smoke Shop 2, Breeze Smokeshop, and Worlds Exotic Smoke Shop
Also known as: Zaza Smoke Shop 2, Breeze Smokeshop, Worlds Exotic Smoke Shop
Industry
RetailConnecticut 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.
$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.
Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department urging rejection of double-digit rate increases sought by Anthem, ConnectiCare, and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group health insurance plans covering about 220,000 people. The letter argues the rates exceed inflationary measures and criticizes the carriers for failing to control costs and for poor claims system management, particularly ConnectiCare's transition to Molina Healthcare.
$275K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $275,000 settlement with TaxAct, an online tax preparation company, over allegations that between January 2018 and December 2022, TaxAct improperly disclosed detailed customer financial information to Meta and Google through third-party tracking technologies without notifying taxpayers. The settlement requires TaxAct to pay $275,000 and implement new third-party tracking compliance measures, including a review committee, written policies, a tag monitoring system, and two independent third-party audits.
$4.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Federal Trade Commission announced a $4 million settlement with Manchester City Nissan (Chase Nissan LLC) resolving allegations that the dealership double-charged for 'certified pre-owned' vehicles and collected unauthorized junk fees. The settlement requires payment for consumer redress, prohibits misrepresentations, mandates clear disclosure of the maximum total price, and requires express informed consent for all charges.