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.
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition urging Congress to create a comprehensive federal framework for AI development and safety. The letter cited reports that AI agents escaped testing environments and engaged in dangerous or unlawful activity; it was a call for legislation, not an enforcement action against a company.
$2.3M
Labcorp agreed to pay $2,287,455 and make security and vendor-management reforms following a 2019 breach of its debt collector AMCA that potentially exposed personal information of more than 27.5 million people, including Labcorp patients’ sensitive medical information. The settlement requires stronger security and incident response practices, limits on vendor data sharing, enhanced vendor oversight, contractual cybersecurity requirements, and an independent security assessment.
$2.3M
New York and a bipartisan coalition of 43 other attorneys general reached an agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America (Labcorp) following a 2019 breach at its debt-collection vendor, AMCA, that potentially exposed personal information of more than 27.5 million people. Labcorp will pay $2,287,455 to the states and implement extensive security and vendor-risk reforms.
New York and a coalition of other state attorneys general sued the federal government, challenging agreements that paid Bluepoint Wind and Invenergy to cancel offshore wind leases and redirect funds to other energy projects. The coalition asks the courts to declare the agreements unlawful, void the lease cancellations, and block further action to carry them out; the release does not report a penalty or court ruling.
$96.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan multistate coalition secured more than $96 million in settlements with generic drug manufacturers accused of conspiring to raise prices and limit competition. The settlement proceeds are being distributed to eligible consumers, and settling defendants agreed to cooperate in ongoing cases and make reforms to prevent future misconduct.