New York Attorney General Letitia James led a 19-state coalition to secure a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from granting Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system and Americans’ sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and bank account details. A prior temporary restraining order required immediate destruction of all records already obtained by DOGE and Musk. The lawsuit remains ongoing to permanently prevent unauthorized access to private consumer data.
Preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from allowing DOGE or Elon Musk to access the Treasury’s central payment system and Americans’ sensitive personal information while the lawsuit proceeds. A prior temporary restraining order required destruction of all copies of records already obtained by DOGE/Musk.
In-house legal teams should review all contracts with government agencies, vendors handling sensitive personal information (including Social Security numbers and bank account details), and entities with access to central payment systems to ensure robust access control provisions, explicit prohibitions on unauthorized data access, and mandatory data destruction clauses. Teams should also verify that contracts require compliance with court-ordered injunctions restricting data access and include audit rights to confirm only vetted, authorized personnel access sensitive data. Any clauses permitting broad government access to consumer data without explicit safeguards should be updated to align with this injunction’s restrictions.
Entity
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump Administration
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-stops-elon-musk-and-doge-accessing-americans-private
state of new york et al v donald trump opinion and order 202
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/state-of-new-york-et-al-v-donald-trump-opinion-and-order-2025_0.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)"
"Trump administration"
"unauthorized access to Americans’ private information"
"unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to individual Americans’ and states’ sensitive information, including social security numbers and bank account information"
"February 21, 2025"
"New York Attorney General Letitia James"
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert on May 18, 2026, warning residents of potential price gouging by transportation service providers during the Long Island Rail Road strike. The alert reminds businesses that New York’s price gouging laws prohibit unconscionable price increases on essential services like transportation during market disruptions. No specific privacy violations or enforcement actions against individual entities were announced in the alert.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert on May 18, 2026, warning businesses against engaging in price gouging on transportation services during the Long Island Rail Road strike. The alert reminds businesses that New York’s price gouging laws prohibit unconscionable price increases on essential goods and services during market disruptions, with potential penalties of up to $25,000 per violation. No specific enforcement action against a particular entity was announced, only a general warning for businesses and a call for consumers to report suspected price gouging.
This press release announces New York Attorney General Letitia James leading a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania’s Governor in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a Fifth Circuit ruling that would reinstate in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone, a medication used for abortion. The coalition argues the ruling is scientifically unsupported, would restrict telehealth access to reproductive care, and undermines state sovereignty over abortion policy post-Dobbs. This is not a privacy-related enforcement action, as the content addresses reproductive health policy rather than data privacy violations.
$5.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $5 million settlement from cryptocurrency platform Uphold HQ, Inc. for promoting Cred’s fraudulent CredEarn investment product as safe and reliable, when Cred was making risky loans to uncreditworthy borrowers in China. Uphold also falsely claimed Cred had comprehensive insurance and promoted the product without registering as a broker or commodity broker-dealer under New York law. As part of the settlement, Uphold will pay $5 million to harmed investors, remit $545,189 from Cred’s bankruptcy to customers, improve due diligence policies for third-party products, and register as a broker with the OAG.
$7.4B
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the shutdown of opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma as part of a $7.4 billion settlement with a bipartisan coalition of 54 other state attorneys general. The Sackler family, former owners of Purdue, are permanently barred from selling opioids in the U.S. and have no involvement in Knoa Pharma, the new public benefit corporation replacing Purdue. Purdue was sentenced on criminal charges related to its role in the opioid crisis on April 28, 2026, with the new entity operating under strict oversight and excess revenue funding opioid abatement efforts.
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.