Penalty Amount
$5,000,000
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement with cryptocurrency platform Uphold HQ, Inc. for misleading investors by promoting Cred’s fraudulent CredEarn investment product as a safe, reliable savings option when it involved risky loans to uncreditworthy borrowers. Uphold will pay $5 million to harmed investors, redirect $545,189 in Cred bankruptcy proceeds to affected customers, and implement enhanced due diligence policies for third-party investment products. Uphold must also register as a broker with the Office of the Attorney General.
Uphold must pay $5 million to harmed investors, redirect all $545,189 it is owed from Cred’s bankruptcy proceedings to affected customers, maintain and improve due diligence policies for third-party investment products before partnering with or recommending them, and register as a broker with the New York Attorney General’s Office.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor and third-party partner agreements to include mandatory due diligence clauses requiring regulatory status verification, risk assessments, and prohibitions on misrepresenting products as safe or insured. Customer-facing agreements must be updated to add clear risk disclosures for investment products, accurate third-party product representations, and explicit refund or liability clauses for losses stemming from fraudulent partner offerings. Teams should also audit agreements for compliance with state broker registration requirements and add clauses mandating partners maintain valid insurance coverage if such coverage is referenced in marketing materials.
Entity
Uphold HQ, Inc.
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-secures-over-5-million-crypto-platform-promoting
uphold hq inc assurance of discontinuance 2026
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/settlements-agreements/uphold-hq-inc-assurance-of-discontinuance-2026.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"Attorney General James Secures Over $5 Million from Crypto Platform for Promoting Fraudulent Investment Scheme"
"April 29, 2026"
"New York Attorney General Letitia James"
"today’s settlement"
"Uphold HQ, Inc. (Uphold)"
"Uphold will pay $5 million to harmed investors"
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.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, leading a coalition of 40 state attorneys general, secured a jury verdict on April 15, 2026, against Live Nation and Ticketmaster for maintaining illegal monopolies in the live events industry. The jury found the companies engaged in anticompetitive practices including exclusive venue contracts, forcing competitors out of the market, and limiting artist performance choices, resulting in overcharged consumers. Remedies, including potential financial penalties and a monopoly breakup, are pending court approval.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, joined by 16 other states, sued the U.S. Department of Education over a new survey requiring colleges to submit extensive student data, arguing it violates the Administrative Procedure Act and threatens student privacy. The lawsuit seeks to block the mandate and prevent penalties for non-compliance.
A bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorneys general led by New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a demand letter to xAI on January 26, 2026, requiring the company to address its Grok chatbot’s creation and sharing of nonconsensual intimate images, including child sexual abuse material. The AGs demand that xAI implement safeguards to prevent Grok from generating such content, delete existing harmful content, suspend offending users, and give X users control over whether their content can be edited by Grok. No monetary penalty has been imposed as this is a pre-enforcement demand for action.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter to Instacart demanding information about its use of algorithmic pricing, after a study found users were charged up to 23% more for identical products. The AG warned that Instacart’s pricing disclosures are non-compliant with New York’s Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, which requires prominent notices near product prices when personal data is used to set prices. Instacart must provide details on its pricing experiments, automated tools, and compliance efforts with the state’s disclosure requirements.
$500K
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $500,000 settlement with orthopedics practice OrthopedicsNY, LLP for failing to implement adequate data security measures, leading to a 2023 cyberattack that exposed personal and health information of approximately 656,000 patients and employees. The settlement requires OrthopedicsNY to pay the penalty, fund one year of free credit monitoring for affected individuals, and adopt enhanced data security practices including multifactor authentication, encryption, and annual risk assessments.