Penalty Amount
$5,200
The New Jersey Attorney General and FTC settled with app developer Equiliv Investments and Ryan Ramminger for distributing the Prized app that contained malware to mine cryptocurrency without user consent. The settlement prohibits such activities, requires record-keeping for 20 years, and imposes a $5,200 penalty with an additional $44,800 suspended.
Defendants are prohibited from marketing or selling malware products and from making misrepresentations in software sales. They must provide financial, personnel, and other records to authorities for 20 years and pay $5,200, with an additional $44,800 suspended pending compliance.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with app developers and third-party distributors (e.g., Google Play, Amazon Appstore), as well as customer-facing Terms of Service and End User License Agreements (EULAs). Key clauses to scrutinize include explicit prohibitions against malware or unauthorized software, requirements for affirmative user consent before executing resource-intensive processes (like cryptocurrency mining), warranties related to device performance and data usage, and compliance obligations with major app store policies. Contracts may need amendments to ban covert cryptocurrency mining, mandate transparent disclosure of battery/data impacts, and incorporate robust audit and record-keeping provisions to enforce compliance, mirroring the 20-year reporting requirement in this settlement.
Entity
Equiliv Investments and Ryan Ramminger
Also known as: Equiliv Investments
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/new-jersey-division-of-consumer-affairs-federal-trade-commission-reach-settlement-with-developer-of-mobile-app-that-allegedly-hacked-new-jersey-smartphones-with-harmful-malware-2/
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"the defendants in this matter, Ohio-based app developer Equiliv Investments and Ryan Ramminger"
"must pay $5,200 to reimburse the State of New Jersey’s investigative and legal costs."
"violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act."
"consumers who downloaded Prized onto their devices were also unwittingly downloading malicious software that infected their devices and caused them to “mine” for virtual currencies"
$650K
The New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs announced that Match Group, Inc. will pay $650,000 and change its business practices to settle allegations that it misrepresented or failed to disclose its criminal background screening policies and practices to New Jersey users, violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Internet Dating Safety Act. Under a Consent Order, Match must accurately represent its screening policies, notify existing New Jersey members of updated disclosures within 150 days, and post clear and conspicuous disclosures and safety notifications about the limitations of criminal background screenings.
On August 31, 2026, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Consumer Affairs joined the FTC and a bipartisan coalition of 21 other states in suing Amazon, alleging that for over seven years the company secretly rigged its advertising auctions—converting advertised 'second price' auctions into first-price auctions with hidden 'soft reserve price' surcharges—overcharging more than 500,000 small- and medium-sized businesses and extracting tens of billions of dollars. The complaint alleges Amazon actively concealed the surcharges, gave false and misleading answers to advertisers who asked directly about the auction format, and applied inflated upcharges on high-volume shopping days like Prime Day and Black Friday. The lawsuit was just filed; no penalties or remedies have been imposed yet.
A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general led by New Jersey, California, Colorado, and Kentucky is taking Meta Platforms, Inc. to trial, alleging that Meta designed addictive features on Instagram and Facebook that harm minors' mental health, illegally collected data from children under 13 without the required protections under COPPA, and misled users about platform safety. Opening arguments begin August 18, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. No monetary penalty or final remedy has yet been imposed.
A coalition of 21 state attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration, DOT, FMCSA, DHS, and AAMVA to prevent the unlawful demand for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial driver's license holders. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to block the data transfer.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in sending comment letters to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board, urging them to deny OppFi's application to acquire BNC National Bank and obtain a national bank charter. The coalition argues that the charter would allow OppFi to circumvent state usury laws and offer high-cost loans with APRs up to 200%, harming consumers.
$400.0M
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a coalition of 43 states and territories in announcing a $400 million settlement in principle with Sandoz Inc. to resolve allegations of widespread price-fixing and anticompetitive conduct in the generic drug market. Sandoz will pay approximately $469 million total including prior settlements, and has agreed to internal reforms to ensure fair competition.