Catherine Cortez Masto

Carson City – A settlement reached with pharmaceutical GlaxoSmithKline and the Nevada Attorney General's Office will give the state's Division of Public and Behavioral Health more than $1 million as part of the agreement with the money going toward immunization initiatives.

CARSON CITY — Now that open enrollment has begun for health insurance plans affected by the Affordable Care Act, Nevadans need to be wary of scammers looking to take advantage of consumer’s uncertainty surrounding this law.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto joined 39 other states in asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to put an end to mobile cramming, the placement of unauthorized third-party charges on mobile phone bills.

“Consumers have the right to have extra charges removed,” said Masto in a news release. “My office will continue take appropriate action against those who bill unauthorized amounts on consumers’ mobile phone bills.”

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and other supports of the bill will join Sandoval as he signs AB67 into law. The bill establishes the crime of sex trafficking of children and adults, and makes victims eligible for state assistance and allows them to sue their traffickers. By doing so, the bill holds pimps accountable and protects the victims of sex trafficking.

AB67 was introduced in Dec. 2012 to combat the rise of human and sex trafficking in Nevada. / Photo by AP

by PAUL GEORGE & LINDSAY TOSTE

CARSON CITY – Insurance Commissioner Scott J. Kipper is warning Nevadans about a telephone scam circulating in the Silver State.
The scam is an automated call that tells consumers that their zip code has been re-evaluated and that they now qualify for lower insurance rates. According to a news release, consumers are then asked to “press one for more information,” if they do, they will be transferred to a voicemail system that asked them to leave personal information.

Friday, Jan. 18 is the deadline for qualified borrowers who lost their homes in foreclosure to file claims for a one-time payment under the $25 billion national mortgage foreclosure settlement, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said.

Nevada and 16 other states have reached an agreement with the nation's largest tobacco companies to resolve 10 years of disputes regarding terms in a 1998 settlement. The agreement provides Nevada with about $21 million in 2013.

With widespread use of social media among adults and children, there's been an uptick in the amount of cyber-bullying cases brought to Carson City area school officials and law enforcement. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto will discuss this and other internet safety concerns on Saturday, Nov. 10 beginning at 2:30 p.m. The presentation, geared for parents, students and educators, will touch on cyber-predators, sexting and cyber-bullying.

CARSON CITY – A behavioral health company based in Las Vegas was fined $125,000 today in a Medicaid fraud case involving the failure to maintain adequate records to support Medicaid claims.

Rainbow Child and Family Services was sentenced for one gross misdemeanor offense of intentional failure to maintain adequate records by Clark County District Judge Valerie Adair and ordered to pay the $125,000 in restitution, penalties, and costs.

RBS Financial Products will pay a $42 million settlement to resolve an investigation into the firm’s role in purchasing and securitizing subprime and payment option adjustable rate mortgages in Nevada.
The assurance of discontinuance, filed in Eighth Judicial District Court, requires RBSFP to commit to certain changes in its practices to the extent it securitizes Nevada mortgages and to pay the State $42 million to be used for payments to affected borrowers, mortgage fraud enforcement, and foreclosure prevention, and attorney’s fees and costs.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today that Aurora Volero-Alvarez, 61, of Las Vegas, has been sentenced in a Medicaid fraud case involving the false reporting of personal care services.

CARSON CITY – The state Board of Examiners on Tuesday will consider settling a dispute with Washoe County over $21.5 million in local property tax revenue taken by the 2009 Legislature to balance the state budget.

The proposed settlement would provide an immediate payment of $1.25 million to the county, with another $6 million being allocated later for major road maintenance projects.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced Thursday that she and 36 other AGs reached a record $181 million settlement, the largest multi-state consumer protection settlement of its kind reached with a pharmaceutical company, with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson. Nevada’s share of the settlement will be $3.3 million.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Attorney General’s Office has reached two separate agreements this week, one with a pharmaceutical firm over the marketing of anti-psychotic drugs and another with three book publishers over e-book price-fixing allegations.

CARSON CITY – Several lawmakers raised questions today about a proposal put forth by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to spend $33 million over three years on outreach, counseling and legal assistance to homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

CARSON CITY – The state Board of Examiners, including Gov. Brian Sandoval, today approved a contract worth up to $72 million through 2016 to set up the information technology system needed to implement the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange.

The contract with Xerox State Healthcare will allow the state to move forward with the exchange, basically a one-stop shop for purchasing health insurance. The exchanges were authorized by the Affordable Care Act, most of which was upheld in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June.

CARSON CITY – The state Board of Examiners today approved a $3 million contract with an out-of-state firm to spearhead tourism efforts in Nevada after being told the selection process was thorough and fair.

The board, with members Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto voting, approved the two-year contract with the California-based offices of Burson-Marsteller.

CARSON CITY – The deadline for a free, federal independent foreclosure review for Nevadans whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010 has been extended to Sept. 30, 2012, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said today.

The previous deadline was July 31.

CARSON CITY – Marcia Giller, 76, of Reno, has been sentenced to prison for two felony offenses of submitting false Medicaid claims, the Attorney General’s office announced this week.

Washoe County District Judge Steven Kosach sentenced Giller on Tuesday to 18 to 48 months imprisonment for each count, to be served consecutively, and additionally ordered Giller to pay $226,000 in restitution, penalties and costs.

KOLO8 News covers the "CRIME SCENE Flash MOB" protest in front of NV AG Catherine Cortez Masto's Carson City Office.

Protesters rallied with a 4 foot by 150 foot long "CRIME SCENE" banner!

Protesters each have their individual complaints against the Attorney General, NDOC, NHP, the Governor and Reno DA Dick Gammick.

CARSON CITY – A member of the state Transportation Department Board of Directors questioned today the proposed selection process for a new agency director.

Today several people staged a protest in front of the Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's office in an effort to show solidarity and that Masto's office has abused her privilege to serve Nevada.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s Office of the Military figured it would be money ahead after entering into a contract with a firm to build solar panels on three of its sites around the state to supply it with electricity.

But today officials with the office won approval from the state Board of Examiners to seek $46,284 from a legislative contingency fund to pay excess utility costs. The reason is because the solar energy being provided under the contract is costing the agency more than if it purchased electricity directly from NV Energy.

CARSON CITY – A lengthy legal dispute with the contractor who built the first phase of the Carson City freeway bypass was settled today for about $13.6 million by the Board of Examiners.

With $5.9 million in additional legal costs incurred by the state Department of Transportation to defend itself from the lawsuit filed by Ames Construction in 2008, the total cost to resolve the matter is $19.5 million.

CARSON CITY – A lengthy legal dispute with the contractor who built the first phase of the Carson City freeway bypass has been recommended for settlement at a cost to the state of nearly $14 million.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is recommending that the Board of Examiners approve the mediated settlement with Ames Construction at its meeting Tuesday.

CARSON CITY – State Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, today criticized his Democrat challenger for “quitting” on her constituents when she resigned her Senate seat and then filed to run against him. Brower is running for election to a full four-year term in what is now Washoe District 15 after the state’s legislative districts were redrawn following the 2010 census. Leslie, who was in the middle of a four-year term in what is now Senate District 13, formerly Washoe Senate 1, resigned when she moved into District 15. She then filed for election to the Senate 15 seat.

CARSON CITY – A regulation requiring thousands of home-based businesses to pay a $200 annual fee won approval today from a legislative panel.

Secretary of State Ross Miller has been trying to get the regulation approved for several months, but has seen the regulation stymied by strong opposition from some Nevada residents and Republican lawmakers who argued the regulation exceeded his authority.

CARSON CITY – Here is a selection of comments made by Nevada public officials today following the announcement of the death of former state Sen. Bill Raggio:

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Bill Raggio. There are no words to describe his dedication to the state of Nevada and I wish to express my deepest condolences and prayers for his wife Dale, and his family. Bill was a true statesman who dedicated his life to making Nevada a better place to live. His legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”

CARSON CITY – A long awaited opinion regarding the conduct of former Lyon County manager Dennis Stark has been published by the state Ethics Commission.

Stark appeared before the commission on an ethics matter in November 2010 and January 2011, and had been waiting for a published opinion in his case. Stark was found at the hearing to have committed one willful ethics violation.