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By referring consumers to an Indiana-led multistate settlement, federal officials this month tacitly recognized the excellence of Attorney General Todd Rokita’s team.

In announcing its own settlement Dec. 10 with a Puerto Rico-based health care clearinghouse following a data breach, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) pointed consumers to an Indiana-led 33-state settlement with the same company reached more than a year earlier.

“The outstanding attorneys in our Consumer Protection Division are vigilant in safeguarding Hoosiers from corporate misconduct and protecting patient privacy,” Attorney General Rokita said. “It comes as no surprise to me that others would regard our work product as a gold standard.”

Both the federal and state settlements resolve allegations that Inmediata Health Group LLC violated state and federal laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), by exposing consumers’ protected health information online in a data breach.

In a press release, federal officials stated, “Under the terms of the settlement, Inmediata paid OCR $250,000. OCR determined that a corrective action plan was not necessary in this resolution as Inmediata had previously agreed to a settlement with 33 states that includes corrective actions that address OCR’s findings in this matter.”

Inmediata’s own investigation revealed that a coding issue potentially exposed the electronic protected health information of approximately 1.5 million U.S. individuals.

Under the Indiana-led settlement, Inmediata agreed to overhaul its data security and breach notification practices and make a $1.4 million payment to states — including more than $131,000 to Indiana.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has announced a sweep of lawsuits against multiple Indiana car dealers allegedly engaged in deceptive acts against car-buying Hoosiers. The lawsuits focus on helping affected consumers who purchased used cars and allegedly ended up with a variety of broken promises, such as not receiving titles or receiving vehicles with salvage titles that were not legal to drive on Indiana roads.

“Indiana consumers deserve to get what they pay for,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We won’t hesitate to bring lawsuits against car dealers who lie or fail to honor their end of agreements with purchasers. Deceptive conduct hurts consumers, and it hurts the reputation of the vast majority of Indiana car dealers who conduct business the right way.”

The lawsuits were filed against Cars R Us, MG Motors, Merliot Auto Sales, Phoenix Motors, Redelman’s Deals on Wheels, and W. Main Auto Sales.

MG Motors and W. Main Auto Sales each allegedly sold cars to consumers and failed to deliver titles. MG Motors allegedly failed to deliver 17 titles while W. Main Auto sales allegedly failed to deliver 22 titles.

Merliot Auto Sales allegedly sold 17 vehicles that had “salvage” title brands to unknowing consumers. Vehicles with “salvage” title brands cannot legally be driven on Indiana roads.

Cars R Us allegedly agreed as part of a vehicle sale to pay off the loan on the consumer’s trade-in vehicle. Cars R Us allegedly failed to make the trade-in payoff, leaving the consumer with multiple auto loans — one on their trade-in and one on their newly-purchased vehicle.

Phoenix Motors sold vehicles to two consumers when the vehicles were allegedly not owned by Phoenix Motors. The vehicles were allegedly then taken back by Phoenix and returned to their original owners, despite the consumers paying for the vehicles in full — leaving the consumers without the monies they paid or the vehicles they purchased.

Redelman’s Deals on Wheels lost its Indiana dealer license to sell vehicles in December 2023. Redelmen’s allegedly continued to sell cars without the required license.

Attorney General Rokita is seeking injunctive relief, consumer restitution, civil penalties, and costs in the lawsuits.

Consumers who believe they have encountered wrongful business practices are encouraged to file complaints with the Attorney General at www.in.gov/attorneygeneral.

U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) applauded Senate passage of their legislation to provide veterans with service-connected disabilities with expedited screening under the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) PreCheck program. The bill passed the House of Representatives by unanimous consent earlier this month and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

TSA PreCheck is already offered to active duty, reserves, and National Guard service members at no cost. The Veterans Expedited TSA Screening (VETS) Safe Travel Act will expand this program to include veterans who are amputees, paralyzed, or blind. Passing through airport security with prosthetics, wheelchairs, or other mobility aids presents a challenge to these individuals when traveling.

“Airports can be a dreaded experience for veterans with service-connected disabilities because of the invasive screenings they may endure at security checkpoints. Once it becomes law, this bill will provide dignified travel to thousands of wounded warriors by ensuring PreCheck benefits are easily available to them,” said Senator Young.

“Millions of Veterans have sacrificed a great deal in service to our nation and returned home with service-connected disabilities—for those of us who rely on prosthetics and wheelchairs for mobility, air travel and passing through airport security can be a challenge,” said Senator Duckworth. “I’m proud the Senate passed our bipartisan bill to make TSA PreCheck available at no cost to these Veterans and make flying and passing through airports easier and less intrusive. I hope President Biden swiftly signs it into law.”

“Ensuring wounded veterans have little difficulty getting through airport security is a simple but impactful way to honor these heroes' sacrifices for our country. I’m proud we delivered this victory before the end of this Congress,” said Senator Marshall.

“For veterans who have already overcome extraordinary challenges in service to our country, navigating airport security should not be another hurdle,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation recognizes the unique challenges that many disabled veterans face and helps to better ensure that their travel experience reflects the dignity of their service.”

Under the VETS Safe Travel Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs would be required to certify that a veteran is eligible. TSA would then process the veteran’s application, granting access to TSA PreCheck at no cost provided they successfully pass the background check and interview process. Additionally, TSA advises that these veterans use TSA PreCheck in conjunction with calling the TSA Cares hotline 72-hours prior to departure to ensure expedited screening.

The legislation is supported by the Wounded Warrior Project, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Honor Flight Network, Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, Blinded Veterans Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

Indiana Governor-elect Mike Braun announced today his intent to appoint Brigadier General Lawrence “Larry” Muennich as the next Adjutant General of Indiana, where he will lead the Indiana National Guard's more than 12,000 soldiers.

Brigadier General Muennich brings over 32 years of military experience and 24 years of corporate executive leadership to the position. He currently serves as Division Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Indiana National Guard, where he oversees personnel readiness and manages Indiana's State Partnership Program relationship with Slovakia.

"Brigadier General Muennich's unique combination of military leadership and private sector executive experience makes him exceptionally qualified to lead our National Guard," said Governor-elect Braun. "His proven track record of strategic leadership, both in uniform and in business, will be invaluable as we work to strengthen Indiana's military readiness and emergency response capabilities."

A graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, Muennich most recently served as Executive Director of Final Mile Delivery at GE Appliances, where he led a nationwide network of over 2,500 contractors and 160 warehouses. His military career includes command of the 38th Combat Aviation Brigade and multiple operational deployments to Iraq, Kosovo, Kuwait and Bosnia. He is also a Senior Army Aviator with over 1,500 flight hours.

"I am honored to be selected as Indiana's next Adjutant General," said Brigadier General Muennich. "The Indiana National Guard has a proud tradition of serving both our state and nation, and I look forward to working alongside our dedicated soldiers and airmen to ensure we remain ready to respond whenever called upon."

Muennich's military education includes graduation with distinction from the Air War College with a Master's in Strategic Studies and recent completion of Harvard University's Homeland Security Seminar. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and the Order of St. Michael from the Army Aviation Association of America.

Adjutant General Larry Muennich

Office co-leads bipartisan task force of 51 Attorneys General

Attorney General Todd Rokita took new action this week against illegal robocallers who are trying to scam Hoosiers. He warned four voice service providers that they have been transmitting suspected illegal robocall traffic on their networks on behalf of one or more of their customers.

As a lead member of the 51-member bipartisan attorney general Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, Attorney General Rokita and Section Chief of Data Privacy and ID Theft, Doug Swetnam, and his team have been investigating these providers.

“These annoying and illegal calls not only terrorize Hoosiers but Americans across the nation,” Attorney General Rokita said. “I said it before and I’ll say it again, if the telecom industry won't police itself, this unprecedented task force will.”

In the warning letters, the task force informs the providers that it has shared the findings of its investigations with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will consider appropriate next steps.

The task force sent warning letters to the following companies:

KWK Communications, Inc.: KWK Communications received at least 129 traceback notices from the industry traceback group between 2020 and 2022, which included high volumes of calls associated with IRS and Social Security Administration scams, auto warranty scams, and utilities scams. In just one month in 2022, KWK allegedly routed more than 20,000 calls with illegally spoofed telephone numbers and more than 8.7 million calls made using invalid Caller ID numbers.

Inbound Inc. Inbound received at least 63 traceback notices between 2021 and 2022, including many about calls that involved imposter scams. Inbound is also estimated to have allegedly routed more than 28.4 million DirecTV and cable discount scam robocalls in a single month in 2022. The FTC previously issued a cease-and-desist demand to Inbound over these scam calls.

AKA Management, Inc. AKA received at least 129 traceback notices between 2020 and 2022, including about calls that were government imposter scams and tech support scams. AKA is also estimated to have allegedly routed about 12.1 million Amazon and Apple imposter robocalls to consumers in a single month in 2022.

CallVox LLC: CallVox received more than 47 traceback notices between 2020 and 2022 warning of unlawful or suspicious robocalls that it helped move into and through the U.S. telephone network, including thousands of calls to people who were registered on the Do Not Call list and calls placed using illegally spoofed telephone numbers.

The letters warned that if these providers continue to transmit robocalls and violate state and federal laws, the task force may pursue further legal actions against these companies and their owners.

The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 bipartisan attorneys general investigates and takes legal action against those responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States.