Maryland Attorney General calls for public input on potential Kroger-Albertsons merger

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown is actively seeking input from Marylanders regarding the proposed merger between two major national supermarket companies: Kroger, known for operating chains like Harris Teeter, and Albertsons, which operates chains like Safeway. As part of its commitment to safeguarding fair competition, worker rights, agricultural interests, and consumer welfare, the Office of Attorney General’s (OAG) […]

Attorney General Brown joins $22.5 million settlement with crypto asset platform Nexo

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s Securities Division announced that it has joined a $22.5 million multistate settlement with Nexo Capital, Inc. In September 2022, Maryland filed an action against Nexo in connection with its Earn Interest Product (EIP) accounts. The Securities Division had alleged that the EIP accounts enabled customers to deposit crypto assets with Nexo. In exchange, […]

AT&T, Cricket violated Consumer Protection Act in sales of cellphones during merger; finding upheld by Appellate Court of Maryland

BALITMORE, MD—The Appellate Court of Maryland has upheld a Final Order issued by the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division finding that AT&T and Cricket Wireless engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices, in violation of the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, when they sold Cricket cellphones that they knew would stop working after Cricket and AT&T entered into a corporate merger […]

Attorney General Brown brings action against crypto interest account provider

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s Securities Division announced that it has filed an action against various companies, known collectively as “Abra,” and against William John “Bill” Barhydt, the founder and CEO of Abra, ordering them to cease and desist violating Maryland law in connection with the offer and sale of investments in two interest-bearing crypto depository accounts: Abra […]

Baltimore County men plead guilty in contraband conspiracy at Jessup Correctional Institution

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown on Friday announced that all eleven defendants who were indicted in March 2023 for a prison contraband conspiracy operating at Jessup Correctional Institution in Anne Arundel County have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. The investigation was led by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit, the Department […]

Attorney General Brown announces conviction, sentencing of Baltimore man for felony fentanyl, cocaine distribution

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown this week announced that Clarence Joseph Buckner, Jr., 49, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on felony fentanyl and cocaine distribution charges following a drug trafficking investigation in the eastern district of Baltimore City. Buckner pleaded guilty to volume dealer/possession of a large amount of fentanyl mixture and distribution of cocaine before […]

Attorney General Brown announces court order to unredact names in April 2023 report on child sexual abuse in Archdiocese of Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD—In a sealed order issued August 16, 2023, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City authorized the Office of the Attorney General to release a revised, substantially unredacted version of the Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The court unsealed its ruling on Tuesday and authorized OAG to release the new version of the […]

Attorney General Brown confirms Maryland’s receipt of nearly $24 million in 2023 payments from distributors and Johnson & Johnson opioids settlements

BALTIMORE, MD—Attorney General Anthony G. Brown this week announced that the State of Maryland and its subdivisions recently received nearly $24 million as the 2023 installments of payments due under consent judgments that the Office of the Attorney General entered into last year with the three largest pharmaceutical distributors in the United States – McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen […]