Sign In
Free Newsletter
Top court reinstates gun conviction
The Office of the Maryland Attorney General got just part of what it wanted Monday, when the state’s highest court revived a gun-possession conviction but declined to revisit an earlier ruling against asking potential jurors questions to combat the “CSI effect.” The Court of Appeals said Reginald Stringfellow’s trial attorney, who had objected to asking […]
Tree service fined $10K for unpermitted clearing
The Maryland attorney general’s office says a Pasadena tree service has been fined $10,000 for clearing trees without a permit in a critical area. Attorney General Doug Gansler’s office said Thursday that Steve J. Everd, Jr., the owner of Branching Out Tree Service, pleaded guilty to the unpermitted clearing of a privately owned waterfront property […]
Court orders confirmed for DNR tracking devices
ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Attorney General’s office has confirmed that the Department of Natural Resources sought court orders allowing the placement of tracking devices on the boats of watermen. State lawmakers had asked the department to provide evidence that DNR acted lawfully in its investigation into possible natural resources violations. The Star Democrat of Easton […]
Delaware joins in foreclosure settlement
One day after saying he was not ready to sign onto a proposed settlement between the nation’s attorneys general and five banks over alleged foreclosure abuses, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced the state will join the pact. In a statement issued Thursday, Biden said the settlement is not perfect but is significantly better than […]
Light bulb recycler pleads guilty in Maryland mercury case
Maryland’s attorney general says his office is seeking prison time and significant fines for a fluorescent light bulb recycler who pleaded guilty to mercury handling violations. Doug Gansler announced Wednesday that 50-year-old Glen Wright Smith of Owings pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts. Smith is to be sentenced Feb. 29 in Anne Arundel County Circuit […]
Gansler announces mortgage rate settlement
Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler has announced an agreement with Wells Fargo relating to allegedly deceptive marketing of adjustable rate mortgages written by companies it acquired in 2008. Gansler said Thursday the settlement involves mortgages written by Wachovia and Golden West Financial. Gansler says the settlement will create loan modifications for some customers. He also […]
Stirring up a fight, Obama names consumer watchdog
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Defying Republican lawmakers, President Barack Obama on Wednesday barreled by the Senate and installed a national consumer watchdog on his own, provoking GOP threats of a constitutional showdown in the courts. Setting a fierce tone in the election-year fight for middle-class voters, Obama said: “I refuse to take ‘no’ for an […]
Suitland woman gets 2 years for workers comp fraud
LAS VEGAS — A Maryland woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for worker’s compensation fraud devised during a 2006 stay at the Las Vegas Hilton. The Nevada Attorney General’s office said Wednesday that 45-year-old Tamara Thompson-Johnson of Suitland will also have to pay $20,000 restitution. Surveillance video shows Thompson-Johnson talking […]
Judge dismisses State Center countersuit
A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge Friday dismissed a $100 million countersuit filed by the state Department of General Services against a group of plaintiffs suing to halt the mega State Center development based on charges that the state violated its own procurement laws in hiring the developer. Judge Althea M. Handy ruled two days […]
Gansler says mineral-rights leases may endanger homes
HAGERSTOWN — Maryland’s attorney general is urging people in the western part of the state to check with their mortgage lender before signing a mineral-rights lease. Douglas Gansler says some federally approved mortgages have requirements that conflict with mineral-rights leases. He says property owners who are considering a mineral-rights lease should have their bank or […]
Auto-warranty firm fights $25M order from Maryland Attorney General
US Fidelis Inc., once the nation’s largest provider of after-market auto warranties but now embroiled in bankruptcy, is challenging the Maryland Attorney General’s order that it pay more than $25 million in restitution and penalties. The attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division found that the Missouri-based firm cheated nearly 17,000 Marylanders, in part by selling them […]
Maryland health club owner charged
The Maryland Attorney General’s office said its Consumer Protection Division filed administrative charges against GRS Fitness LLC and its owner, Bernard P. Caplan Jr., alleging that they arbitrarily discontinued services at a health club in Essex. Other charges include making false and misleading statements to consumers in regard to their cancellation rights, offering and charging […]
