New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition of 24 state attorneys general, Puerto Rico, and New York City in sending letters to nine major credit card companies and payment processors urging them to block transactions facilitating illegal vaping product sales. The coalition cites federal and state laws prohibiting unauthorized e-cigarette sales, particularly to youth, and requests collaboration to prevent payment networks from processing such transactions. No enforcement penalties or actions were imposed as part of this initiative.
In-house legal teams at payment processors, credit card companies, and merchants selling age-restricted products should review their merchant services agreements, terms of service, and vendor contracts to include explicit clauses requiring compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, including the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act and FDA e-cigarette marketing rules. Clauses related to prohibited products, age verification obligations, and termination rights for non-compliance should be updated to allow payment networks to block transactions for illegal goods. Merchant agreements should also require regular compliance certifications and audit rights to verify adherence to youth access prevention laws.
Entity
American Express, Capital One, Citi Group, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Sezzle, Block (operator of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay)
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-leads-bipartisan-effort-curb-sales-illegal-vaping
letter to american express company on illegal e cigarette sa
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-american-express-company-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to capitol one financial corp on illegal e cigarette
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-capitol-one-financial-corp-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to citigroup inc on illegal e cigarette sales transac
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-citigroup-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to mastercard inc on illegal e cigarette sales transa
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-mastercard-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to visa inc on illegal e cigarette sales transactions
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-visa-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to paypal holdings inc on illegal e cigarette sales t
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-paypal-holdings-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to stripe inc on illegal e cigarette sales transactio
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-stripe-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to sezzle inc on illegal e cigarette sales transactio
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-sezzle-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
letter to block inc on illegal e cigarette sales transaction
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/letter-to-block-inc-on-illegal-e-cigarette-sales-transactions-letters-2026.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"urging major credit card companies and payment processors, including American Express, Capital One, Citi Group, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Sezzle, and Block (operator of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay)"
"Federal law requires that all e-cigarette products receive authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be legally marketed or sold in the United States."
"the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act imposes strict requirements on online sellers, including age verification, registration, and compliance with all applicable state and local laws."
"many of these sales are also illegal under state and local laws, including flavor bans in states like New York and prohibitions on direct-to-consumer shipping in several states."
"bipartisan coalition of 24 other attorneys general and the City of New York"
"Attorney General James and Multistate Coalition Urge Major Credit Card Companies and Payment Processors to Help Stop Youth Vaping Crisis"
On April 28, 2026, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 24 other attorneys general and New York City in sending letters to major credit card companies and payment processors urging them to block transactions facilitating sales of illegal vaping products. The coalition, led by New York, Pennsylvania, California, and NYC, called for collaboration to stop unlawful sales of unauthorized e-cigarettes that violate federal FDA premarket authorization requirements and the PACT Act. The letters request a meeting to discuss prohibiting noncompliant merchants from using the payment networks, citing past successful government-private sector collaboration in reducing illegal tobacco sales.
The New York Attorney General issued a consumer alert and online guide about scams targeting service members and veterans, including phishing and credit-monitoring scams that may misuse personal information. The release provides steps for protecting information and reporting suspected scams; it does not announce an enforcement action or monetary penalty.
$10.0M
A March 2023 breach exposed personal and protected health information associated with more than 13.3 million people after attackers accessed company systems using an employee’s credentials. The Perry Johnson companies agreed to pay at least $300,000, with an additional $9.7 million in penalties due if they fail to meet the agreement, and to implement security, incident response, and health-data handling reforms.
New York Attorney General James and Governor Hochul announced guidance advising county executives and sheriffs that they must end agreements to house or detain people for federal civil immigration violations by November 25, 2026. The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act makes those agreements void and unenforceable after the deadline; no monetary penalty or specific enforcement order is announced.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning federal student loan borrowers that consolidating loans after changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act may limit repayment options and forgiveness eligibility. This is consumer guidance, not a privacy enforcement action; the release announces no fine or enforcement remedy.
$500K
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement with Bloomberg L.P. after finding that Bloomberg News failed to clearly disclose subscription price increases and automatic renewals, provide required acknowledgments and renewal notices, and make cancellation sufficiently easy. Bloomberg must pay $500,000 in penalties, provide refunds to eligible subscribers, and improve its subscription disclosures and practices.