Penalty Amount
$700,000
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement with two Mt. Kisco car dealerships, DARCARS Lexus and DARCARS BMW, that deceptively charged a two percent 'sales commission' fee that was optional, provided no consumer benefit, and was never paid to the salesperson, and that misleadingly bundled a low-value aftermarket product ('DARCARS Assurance') into sales and lease agreements as if it were mandatory. The dealerships will pay more than $1.17 million in consumer refunds (with potentially millions more through a claims process) plus $700,000 in penalties. They must clearly disclose all future fees and add-ons, are banned from selling DARCARS Assurance or similar junk bundles at any New York dealership, and must conduct annual fair-business-practices training for all employees.
DARCARS Lexus will pay $892,671.26 to reimburse all consumers charged the sales commission fee between October 23, 2021 and May 30, 2022, and both dealerships will pay an additional $281,847.72 ($116,849 to DARCARS Assurance complainants and $164,998.72 to deceptive-fee complainants). Consumers charged after May 2022 will receive claims forms, with restitution owed on all valid claims that could push total refunds into the millions. The dealerships must pay $700,000 in penalties, have stopped charging sales commissions, must clearly disclose all future fees and add-on products or services, are banned from offering or selling DARCARS Assurance or any similar junk bundle at any New York dealership, and must subject all employees (including sales, finance, marketing, and advertising personnel) to annual training on fair business practices.
In-house teams—particularly at dealerships, franchise retailers, or any consumer-facing business that charges line-item fees—should review customer-facing sales contracts, lease agreements, and purchase paperwork for pre-printed fee line items (especially fees styled as 'sales commissions' or marked 'not required by law') and ensure each optional fee is expressly disclosed as voluntary, with its benefit and recipient clearly explained. Advertising and pricing policies should be aligned with transaction documents so advertised prices are not undercut by later-added mandatory-looking charges (all-in pricing). Contracts and point-of-sale disclosures for bundled aftermarket or add-on products should state plainly that the products are optional and describe their actual consumer value, and vendor agreements for those products should be checked for indemnification and refund/restitution obligations arising from mis-selling. Finally, employee training obligations and compliance-program clauses covering sales, finance, marketing, and advertising personnel should be added or updated to require annual fair-business-practices training.
Entity
DARCARS of Railroad Avenue, Inc. (DARCARS Lexus) and MT Kisco Automotive, LLC (DARCARS BMW)
Industry
AutomotiveOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-secures-more-1-million-refunds-new-yorkers-cheated
darcars of railraod avenue inc et al aod 2026 0
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/settlements-agreements/darcars-of-railraod-avenue-inc-et-al-aod-2026_0.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"DARCARS of Railroad Avenue, Inc. (DARCARS Lexus) and MT Kisco Automotive, LLC (DARCARS BMW)"
"September 16, 2026"
"DARCARS will also pay $700,000 in penalties."
"secured more than $1 million in refunds for New Yorkers who were unfairly overcharged by two Westchester car dealerships"
"DARCARS Lexus will pay a total of $892,671.26 to reimburse all consumers who were charged the sales commission fee between October 23, 2021 and May 30, 2022. Both DARCARS dealerships will also pay additional reimbursements totaling $281,847.72."
"imposed a two percent charge on consumers that was deceptively presented as a sales commission, even though it was not paid directly to the salesperson, was completely optional, and provided no benefit to the consumer"
$352K
New York Attorney General Letitia James settled with Brooklyn High Rise LLC for illegally denying housing to prospective tenants based on housing court records, a practice known as tenant blacklisting. The company also charged non-refundable 'good faith' deposits. Brooklyn High Rise will pay $352,250 in penalties and restitution and must end its unlawful tenant screening practices.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued an industry alert urging workers with knowledge of unsafe or illegal conduct in AI development to file confidential complaints through the OAG's secure whistleblower portal. The alert cites the OAG's monitoring of cybersecurity, economic, and other safety risks from emerging AI, and highlights the RAISE Act (effective January 1, 2027), which will require large AI developers to publicly disclose safety measures and report security incidents, as well as the SHIELD Act's data security requirements. No company was named, charged, or penalized; the alert signals impending OAG enforcement authority over AI developers.
$700.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James, leading a bipartisan coalition of 39 other states, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii's Office of Consumer Protection, secured a $700 million settlement from Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), a subprime auto lender, resolving allegations of deceptive and abusive lending. The lawsuit alleged CAC pushed tens of thousands of consumers into unaffordable loans with average interest rates above 38 percent, bundled with expensive add-on products consumers were told were mandatory or never told about, causing widespread defaults and vehicle repossessions. Note: this is a consumer-lending enforcement action rather than a privacy matter, so no privacy violation categories from the taxonomy apply.
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition of 17 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to Congress opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, warning that the bill would preempt state attorneys general authority to combat cryptocurrency fraud and scams. This is a legislative advocacy action, not an enforcement action against any company, and no penalties or remedies were imposed. The coalition urged Congress to preserve state enforcement power over both tokenized and non-tokenized securities and state crypto registration regimes.
$8.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured an $8 million settlement from VGW Holdings Pty. Ltd. and its affiliates for unlawfully operating online sweepstakes casinos — Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots — that allowed New Yorkers to play casino games with virtual coins exchangeable for cash or prizes. The OAG's June 2025 cease and desist letter stopped the company from offering virtual coin gambling in New York, and Governor Hochul signed a formal ban on sweepstakes casinos into law in December 2025. Under the settlement, VGW will pay $8 million in disgorgement, penalties, and costs; note this is an illegal-gambling enforcement action rather than a privacy matter, so no privacy violation taxonomy categories apply.
$824K
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement with 425 Marcy, LLC and its principal Ezra Unger over the unlawful pre-sale of condominium units at 427 Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg before the required Martin Act offering plan was accepted for filing, and the misuse of $6.715 million in buyer down payments that were never placed in escrow. Unger agreed to repay residential buyers their down payments with interest or provide purchase credits, pay up to $824,000 in penalties, and is barred from selling securities in New York for six years. Note: this is a real estate offering-plan/escrow enforcement action rather than a data privacy matter; 'notice_failure' is the closest available taxonomy mapping (selling without the required offering plan disclosures).