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DOJ Secures Conviction, Sentences In Violent Gun Cases

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AG Jennings Announces Lawsuit Against Seaford

Chancery filing seeks invalidation of illegal fetal tissue ordinance After twice warning the City of Seaford that it was considering an anti-choice ordinance that was contrary to State law, Attorney General Kathy Jennings has filed suit against the City of Seaford over the ordinance.  The ordinance, passed on December 14 and scheduled to become effective […]



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Attorney General Jennings announces $1.85 billion Navient settlement 

More than 1,500 Delaware borrowers to see relief Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Thursday that Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers, will provide $1.85 billion in relief to student borrowers under a multistate settlement stemming from allegations of widespread unfair, deceptive, and predatory practices. More than 97% of Delaware’s $5.34 million share […]



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AG Jennings, ATF, DSP Announce 91 Felony Charges Against Sussex County Straw Purchasers

Guns used in Dover homicide, New Castle County suicide; many remain unrecovered Attorney General Kathy Jennings joined law enforcement and prosecutors Wednesday to announce that the DOJ has secured 87 felony charges against five defendants who are collectively charged with illegally purchasing and providing to others more than 60 firearms, including guns recovered at the […]



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AG Jennings Announces $6 Billion National Settlement In Principle With Purdue Pharma and Sackler family

Jennings successfully appealed from original deal, more than doubling Delaware’s recovery with up to $25 million extra Institutions may remove Sackler name from buildings, scholarships; Sacklers to be banned from opioid business and Purdue to dissolve Attorney General Jennings announced today a tentative settlement worth as much as $6 billion with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family […]



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Three Men Sentenced in Connection With Operation Rise-N-Shyne

Defendants sentenced to total of 47 years for gun, drug offenses Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Friday that the Department of Justice secured drug and firearms sentences in February against three Kent County men who were arrested in connection with the joint state/federal Operation Rise-N-Shyne investigation. “Justice called for robust sentences in these cases,” said […]



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DOJ Seeks Public’s Assistance in Sussex County Sexual Abuse Case

Prosecutors seek additional victims of Ellendale pastor The Delaware Department of Justice is seeking the public’s assistance in the prosecution of a Sussex County pastor indicted for Unlawful Sexual Contact, and is requesting that any additional victims contact law enforcement. Major Foster, a Lincoln man who at the time was employed as pastor of Ellendale’s […]



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DCRPT Secures Prison Sentence in Sussex County Hate Crime

A Sussex County man has been sentenced to two years in prison for a hate crime involving a neighbor. James Raab, of Laurel, was sentenced on April 22 after pleading guilty to felony Hate Crime, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony, Aggravated Menacing, and Resisting Arrest. Raab, 38, was arrested […]



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Attorney General Jennings Announces $141 Million TurboTax Settlement

All 50 states reach agreement with Intuit for deceiving low-income Americans into paying for free tax services Attorney General Kathy Jennings today secured over $400,000 for low-income Delawareans from the owner of TurboTax, Intuit Inc. (Intuit), for deceiving Delaware consumers into paying for tax services that should have been free. As a result of a […]



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Attorney General Jennings announces investigation into tech sales bootcamp

Attorney General Kathleen Jennings announced today that the Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit is investigating tech sales bootcamp Prehired and its CEO, Joshua Jordan. The investigation began in March, after Prehired filed nearly 300 debt-collection lawsuits in the Delaware Justice of the Peace Court seeking to enforce its income share agreements. Prehired started […]



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AG Jennings announces $34.2 million national settlement with Harris Jewelry 

Jewelry chain defrauded thousands of servicemembers and veterans Attorney General Kathy Jennings, through the Fraud Division’s Consumer Protection Unit and in connection with 17 other states and the FTC, has secured a recovery of $34.2 million for more than 46,000 servicemembers and veterans nationwide who were deceived and defrauded by jewelry retailer Harris Jewelry. Harris […]



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AG Jennings Announces Major Settlement With Former Top Mortgage Lender Over Allegations Of Redlining

Deal commits Trident Mortgage to pay for mortgage subsidies in minority neighborhoods, spurring hundreds of millions in lending Attorney General Jennings today announced a $20 million settlement with former top home mortgage lender, Trident Mortgage Company, to resolve allegations of “redlining” in the greater Philadelphia region, including New Castle County. The deal requires Trident to […]



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Attorney General Jennings Announces Formation of Nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force

Delaware is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States.



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Jennings, DSP Announce Trooper Plea In Computer System Misuse Case

A Delaware State Trooper has pleaded guilty to Misuse of Computer System Information, Attorney General Kathy Jennings and Col. Melissa Zebley announced Friday.  The case was prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust after Delaware State Police supervisors discovered and reported Boyda’s conduct. James D. Boyda, a five-year veteran of […]



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AG Jennings Announces $438.5 Million Multistate Agreement with JUUL Labs

Attorney General Jennings announced today a $438.5 million agreement in principle between JUUL Labs and 34 states and territories resolving a two-year bipartisan investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices. In addition to the financial terms, the settlement would force JUUL to comply with a series of strict injunctive terms severely limiting their marketing and sales practices. […]



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Wilmington Man Sentenced in Revenge Murder Case

A Wilmington man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a 2018 murder. On August 26, Elgin Wilson, 20, pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, suspended after 20 years for descending levels of probation. Wilson also pleaded guilty to Conspiracy 2nd Degree and was sentenced […]



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Two Wilmington Gang Members Sentenced for Murders, Gun Charges

Two defendants affiliated with the Wilmington-area gang MGS have been sentenced to a collective 61 years in prison in connection with multiple shootings, including three murders. Both defendants were identified and arrested as a result of a years-long investigation into MGS, a violent gang at the center of nearly 200 criminal charges involving 19 defendants and […]



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Attorney General Jennings Announces Settlement With Experian-Owned Company Over Sensitive Information Breach

Attorney General Jennings today announced a multistate settlement with Experian Data Corp (“EDC”) for failing to warn affected consumers after it learned that an identity thief was posing as a private investigator and retrieving sensitive personal information from Court Ventures Inc., a database that EDC had purchased. In 2012, the U.S. Secret Service notified EDC […]




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AG Jennings Announces $3.1 Billion Opioid Settlement With Walmart

Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced that Delaware has reached a settlement with Walmart to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores. The settlement will provide $3.1 billion nationally and will require significant improvements in how Walmart’s pharmacies handle […]




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AG Jennings Announces Over $10 Billion In National Bipartisan Opioid Settlements With CVS And Walgreens

Together with prior deals, Delaware now expects to recover a quarter-billion dollars to combat opioid crisis Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced that she has finalized settlement agreements with CVS and Walgreens, bringing the national amount from investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry for its role in the opioid crisis to more than $50 billion. Delaware’s […]



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AG Jennings Announces Leadership Changes At The DOJ

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Tuesday that A.J. Roop will serve as the DOJ’s next Chief of Staff. A seven-year veteran of the DOJ, Roop has served as State Prosecutor throughout AG Jennings’ term, leading the DOJ’s largest Division, maintaining the Department’s high conviction rate in gun cases, and guiding the Criminal Division through a […]



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AG Jennings secures lengthy suspension from Wilmington financial adviser for false statements to securities regulator

Attorney General Kathy Jennings last week secured a multi-year suspension and fines from a Wilmington based financial adviser for making false and misleading statements to her office’s Investor Protection Unit, the state securities regulator for Delaware, and for providing advisory services to clients while unregistered to do so. “Protecting investors from unscrupulous financial professionals is […]



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Jennings to Credit Card Giants: Keep Your Promises on Gun Violence

Attorney General Kathy Jennings today co-led a coalition of attorneys general from across the nation in denouncing four of the world’s largest credit card companies for walking back their commitment to implement a new merchant code for gun sales that would help prevent mass shootings and curb gun violence. “Gun violence has become so endemic in our country that it is now the leading cause of childhood death. […]



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Federal Court Rules Against Gun Lobby on Delaware Injunction

Delaware’s bans on assault weapons, large capacity mags remain in effect  A federal judge hearing a right-wing challenge against two common-sense gun safety measures in Delaware has ruled against the gun lobby on a critical question in Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, Inc. et al. v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security et al.  In an […]



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Jennings, AGs, and Advocates Announce Proposed Settlement in Chesapeake Pollution Lawsuit

Attorney General Kathy Jennings and her colleagues have announced that a proposed settlement has been reached in the 2020 lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to require Pennsylvania to develop and implement a plan to meet its commitments to reduce pollution under the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. One-third of Delaware is […]



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DOJ Secures Lengthy Prison Sentence for Dover Man in 2022 Violent Gun Case

On May 11, 37-year-old Kyle Leonard pled guilty to Murder 2nd Degree in Kent County Superior Court. Leonard was sentenced to 40 years in prison, suspended after 30 years for 6 months of work release or home confinement, followed by two years of probation.   The conviction and sentence follow an investigation into Leonard fatally shooting his mother, […]



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DSP, DOJ Announce Domestic Violence Charges Against Suspended Trooper

A suspended Delaware State Trooper has been arrested and charged for a domestic physical assault, Attorney General Kathy Jennings and Col. Melissa Zebley announced Friday. On March 14, officers from Delaware State Police Troop 9 responded to a residence in Townsend regarding a domestic violence incident involving the defendant, Trooper Anthony DiGati. Police learned that DiGati and the victim had […]



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AG Jennings Announces Leadership Changes At The DOJ

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Monday that Elmer Setting will serve as the DOJ’s next Chief of Staff. Setting served as Deputy State Court Administrator and Acting State Court Administrator, where he managed security and operations for all six Delaware Courts. He is a former Chief of New Castle County Police (2012-2017), whose leadership and innovation […]



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DOJ, WPD, and NCCPD Announce Felony Convictions Against NorthPak Defendants

Over 80 convictions, including 5 murders solved over the last 2 years The Department of Justice has secured 10 new felony convictions—including multiple murder and gun charges— in its long-running case against members of the violent Wilmington-area gang NorthPak, Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Monday. “Our trial team and our partners in Wilmington PD and […]




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DOJ Secures Life Sentence For Delaware Man Who Murdered His Family

A Townsend man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of four family members. On August 18, Donald Grier Jr., 41, was sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison in New Castle County Superior Court after pleading Guilty But Mentally Ill to one count of Murder 1st Degree and one count […]



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DOJ Secures Lengthy Sentence For Pennsylvania Man For Violent Robbery Of Little Italy Resident

A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for violent assault and robbery. On August 25, 2023, Zykeem Fields, 23, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by probation, by a Superior Court judge. Fields, who lived part-time in Wilmington, pleaded guilty to felony charges of Assault 1st Degree and Robbery 1st Degree following a brutal attack in 2022.   On September 28, 2022, Fields followed […]



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AG Jennings Warns Seniors Of Uptick In Financial Scam Reports

In the wake of an uptick in reports of financial exploitation of seniors, Attorney General Kathy Jennings and the Delaware DOJ’s Investor Protection Unit (“IPU”) is cautioning seniors to be vigilant for scams. Delaware law requires banks, credit unions, and certain other financial institutions to report suspected exploitation of a senior or vulnerable adult to the IPU. […]



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Attorney General Jennings Announces $35 Million Settlement with Leasing Company Tempoe, LLC

Attorney General Jennings announced today a settlement with Tempoe, LLC resolving a multistate investigation into Tempoe’s advertising and leasing to consumers through retailers across the nation. The multistate investigation—which included 41 states and the District of Columbia—revealed that Tempoe’s marketing and sales practices often misled consumers to believe they were signing up for an installment […]




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AG Jennings, DSP Colonel Zebley Announce Felony Indictment Against Suspended Trooper

A Delaware State Trooper has been charged with multiple felonies, including Delaware’s first-ever use of a new Deprivation of Civil Rights statute passed by lawmakers last year, for brutally assaulting a 15-year-old victim and fracturing his orbital socket in response to an apparent prank.  The Trooper is suspended without pay. “As a mother and grandmother, […]



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DOJ Secures Life Sentence For Serial Stalker

A New Castle man has been sentenced to life in prison following convictions in two domestic violence cases. On September 22, David Jewell, 47, was declared a habitual offender and sentenced to life in prison for convictions of felony Stalking, Harassment, and 24 counts of Terroristic Threatening, following an investigation into hundreds of violent phone calls and messages targeting two victims, one of whom was a […]



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AG Jennings Announces $49.5 Million Blackbaud Data Breach Settlement

Attorney General Jennings announced today that Delaware has reached a multistate settlement with software company Blackbaud for its deficient data security practices and response to a 2020 ransomware event that exposed the personal information of millions of consumers across the United States. Under the settlement, Blackbaud has agreed to overhaul its data security and breach […]



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Statement from AG Jennings On The Violence In Israel

Attorney General Kathy Jennings released the following statement Friday regrading the violence committed against innocents in Israel: Dave and I are grieving for the innocents lost in Israel, and for their families abroad and here in Delaware. I have struggled to find words for what the world has witnessed: Hamas’ flagrant violence and kidnappings committed […]



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AG Jennings announces conviction of Cpl. Keith Heacook’s murderer

Prosecutors have convicted a Delmar man for the murder of Cpl. Keith Heacook in April 2021. Randon Wilkerson, 32, will serve the rest of his life in prison following a stipulated non-jury trial in which he was convicted of 16 charges, including two counts of Murder 1st Degree and 11 other felonies. “Cpl. Keith Heacook served […]



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Attorney General Jennings announces multistate settlement with Inmediata for data breach im

Attorney General Jennings announced today that Delaware, along with 32 other attorneys general, has reached a settlement with healthcare clearinghouse Inmediata for a coding issue that exposed the protected health information (“PHI”) of approximately 1.5 million consumers for almost three years. Under the settlement, Inmediata has agreed to overhaul its data security and breach notification […]



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Attorney General Jennings Secures Restitution And Governance Improvements For Residents Of Noble’s Pond

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced today that the Department of Justice has settled its lawsuit against a developer for allegedly having misled residents at Noble’s Pond, a 55+ community outside Dover, Delaware and will begin making payments to residents.  The Department’s complaint, filed in 2019, included charges that Regal Builders, LLC, its president, and related entities, violated Delaware law by […]



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AG Jennings Announces $30 Million Order Against Student Lender For Illegal Practices 

Comes after initiating joint effort with federal and state partners Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced today that, due to the work of her office, along with the federal Consumer Protection Financial Bureau and 11 other states, a Delaware bankruptcy court approved a stipulated judgment that will require bankrupt student lender Prehired to provide more than […]



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Attorney General Jennings Announces $150 Million Settlement with Hikma Pharmaceuticals to Help Combat Opioid Crisis

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced today a $150 million multistate settlement in principle with opioid manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals (Hikma) for its role in fueling the opioid crisis. Hikma produces a range of generic opioid products and sells hundreds of millions of opioid doses every year. The attorneys general allege that from 2006 to 2021, Hikma […]




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AG Jennings, law enforcement leaders announce record low violent crime rates

Flanked by law enforcement leaders, Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Monday that law enforcement’s focus on violent criminals and gun offenders has driven Delaware’s violent crime rates to their lowest point since the State began tracking the statistic — a 40% decline since 2008. “I’ve never seen another jurisdiction accomplish the things that Delaware is […]



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DOJ secures lengthy sentence for Wilmington man in fatal shooting incident 

On January 5, Timothy Thomas, 34, of Newark was sentenced to 25 years in prison for convictions of Murder 2nd Degree and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. Thomas previously submitted a guilty plea in October following an investigation into the shooting of Andre Hickson, 40, on July 6, 2020. “When you commit […]



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AG Jennings announces $350 million multistate settlement with marketing firm Publicis over role in opioid epidemic

Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Delaware will receive over $1.5 million from the settlement to help address the opioid crisis.  In agreeing to the terms of the settlement, Publicis recognized the harm its conduct caused, and the agreement […]




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AG Jennings Announces Appeal Of Superior Court Voting Ruling, Vows Support For Constitutional Amendment

The Department of Justice will move to appeal a Superior Court judge’s ruling curtailing voting rights, and will support legislative efforts to pass constitutional amendments expanding and enshrining voting rights.



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Mary and Charles Vinson sentenced to over 150 years in serial child abuse case

A Kent County couple will effectively spend their lives in prison for the serial abuse and torture of their children, Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced today. “These children went through hell,” said Attorney General Jennings. “Now they never have to worry about their abusers again. Even when these cases are strong, they are not easy. […]



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DOJ secures over seven life sentences, habitual offender status for Keith Gibson after violent killing spree

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Wednesday that 41-year-old Keith Gibson was declared a Habitual Offender and sentenced in New Castle County Superior Court to seven life terms, plus 296 years in prison for 22 convictions, including four counts of murder, relating to a brutal crime spree in the summer of 2021 that claimed the lives […]



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Suspended Trooper faces prison after pleading guilty to six charges, including two felonies

Prosecutors have secured multiple felony convictions, including Delaware’s first-ever conviction for Deprivation of Civil Rights, against a Delaware State Trooper for the assault of two juvenile victims, Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Friday. Dempsey Walters, 30, was indicted in September 2023 for assaulting two victims — a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old, whose orbital socket was […]



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Delaware Department of Labor To Hold 10th Employer Conference

Delaware businesses will find topical information about issues affecting their bottom line at the Delaware Department of Labor 10th Employer Conference, May 16, 2013 at Chase Center on the Riverfront.