Texas OAG’s Child Exploitation, Fugitive Apprehension & Special Crimes Unit makes several recent arrests

Staff Report

The responsibilities, of the Office of the Attorney General, are to serve as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issue legal opinions when requested by the Governor, heads of state agencies, and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes.

The Texas AG sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.

Many Texans look to the Office of the Attorney General for guidance with disputes and legal issues. The agency receives hundreds of letters, phone calls, and visits each week about crime victims’ compensation, child support, abuse in nursing homes, possible consumer fraud, and other topics.

To find out more about the Texas Attorney General, visit the official website at https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/.

 

The OAG’s Child Exploitation Unit

In Shelby County, Robert Bradly Lindsey, 58, of Center was arrested on March 9 for two counts of Possession of Child Pornography. This case was received as a NCMEC CyberTipline report involving the upload of child pornography to a social media account.

After executing a search warrant at Lindsey’s residence, numerous items were seized as evidence for examination by the Digital Forensics Unit.

Lindsey confessed to operating the social media account and to viewing, uploading, and sharing child pornography with the account. Lindsey was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

In Henderson County, Danny Alan Reed, 35, of Athens was arrested March 8 for four counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

This case was received as multiple NCMEC CyberTipline reports involving the upload of child pornography to a social media account. After executing a search at Reed’s residence, numerous items were seized for examination by the Digital Forensics Unit. Reed was transported to the Henderson County Jail.

In Atascosa County, Armando Anthony Vidales, 23, of Poteet was arrested on March 5 for two counts of Promotion of Child Pornography.

This case was received as a NCMEC CyberTipline report involving the upload of child pornography to an email account, with the potential of a live victim.

After executing a search warrant at Vidales’ home, multiple items were seized for examination by the Digital Forensics Unit. Vidales confessed to producing, uploading, and sending images of child pornography. Vidales was transported to the Atascosa County Jail.

OAG’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit

In Harris County, Desmon Johnson was arrested in Houston on March 8. Johnson had an open felony warrant for aggravated sexual assault issued by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

The Unit made the arrest while working with the United States Marshals Service, Gulf Coast Violent Offender, and Fugitive Task Force.

In Travis County, Jacovi Lavoy Sattiewhite was arrested in Austin on March 9. Sattiewhite had an outstanding warrant for Aggravated Robbery issued by the Austin Police Department. The Unit made the arrest while working with the United States Marshals Service, Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.

In Harris County, Drew Quinonez was arrested in Houston on March 9. Quinonez had an outstanding warrant for Murder issued by the El Campo Police Department.

The Unit made the arrest while working with the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Take Force. Quinonez also had an outstanding warrant for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon issued by the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office.

OAG’s Special Crimes Unit

In Uvalde County, Charles Rogers was arrested after making a direct threat to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Rogers contacted the Attorney General’s office and threatened to physically assault the Attorney General if he did not drop the lawsuit against Travis County regarding the mask mandate. Rogers was transported to the Uvalde County Jail.

AG Paxton: Alaska, Florida, Montana, Nevada, and Puerto Rico Join Texas-Led Bipartisan Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amended complaint alleging antitrust violations and deceptive acts by Google in its lucrative online display advertising business.

Attorneys General from Alaska, Florida, Montana, Nevada, and Puerto Rico joined the lawsuit originally filed by a coalition of 10 states, led by Texas, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 15 states and territories in this landmark case.

“I’m proud to welcome Alaska, Florida, Montana, Nevada, and Puerto Rico to our multistate lawsuit against this monopolistic tech giant. Today’s filing underscores the broad consensus that Google’s practices require review and swift action under antitrust and consumer protection laws,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Google collects thousands of data points about people and uses that information for its own gain while lying to advertisers, publishers, and consumers about their conduct and underlying motives. We will not allow this unprecedented, unlawful conduct to continue. Our coalition looks forward to holding Google accountable for its illegal conduct and reforming Google’s practices in the future. And we are confident Google will be forced to pay for its misconduct through significant financial penalties.”

Like the original Complaint filed in December 2020, the Amended Complaint that was filed yesterday alleges multiple violations of federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws, including anticompetitive conduct, exclusionary practices, and deceptive misrepresentation in connection with Google’s role in the multi-trillion-dollar online display advertising industry.

Google’s monopolization includes an anticompetitive agreement with Facebook, making misrepresentations to users and customers, and suppressing competition. Google demonstrably diminished publishers’ ability to monetize content, increased advertisers’ costs, and directly harmed consumers.

Read a copy of the amended complaint here. 

AG Paxton Ensures Forgiveness of $29 Million in Electric Bills for 24,000 Texans After Suing Griddy Energy, LLC

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton released the following statement in response to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Griddy Energy, LLC:

“My office sued Griddy Energy, under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, to hold them accountable for their escalation of last month’s winter storm disaster by debiting enormous amounts from customer accounts as Texans struggled to survive the storm,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I ensured that Griddy’s proposed bankruptcy plan takes an important step forward by offering releases to approximately 24,000 former customers who owe $29.1 million in unpaid electric bills. Griddy and my office are engaged in ongoing good faith negotiations to attempt to address additional relief for those Griddy customers who have already paid their storm-related energy bills.” 

The following steps are being taken to ensure Texans are protected:  

• Through the bankruptcy plan, Griddy will release all outstanding payment obligations for those Texas consumers who were unable to pay their energy bills due to the high prices charged during the storm.   
• Texas will abate the state court lawsuit and Civil Investigative Demand and Griddy will work with it in good faith to resolve these matters. 
• Texas and Griddy will work in good faith to address relief for Texans who have already paid. 

Information about Griddy’s Chapter 11 case, including access to Court documents, is available here: http://www.cases.stretto.com/griddy. 

AG Paxton: Fifth Circuit Issues Sanctions Against Perkins Coie

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered sanctions against Marc Elias and other attorneys at Perkins Coie, an international law firm that provides counsel for the Democratic National Committee, for submitting redundant and misleading supplemental filings in their attempt to re-implement straight-ticket voting in Texas.

When submitting the supplemental filings, Perkins Coie also failed to notify the Court that a nearly identical previous motion was denied. Failure to disclose this denial violated their duty of candor to the Court.

The Court also recommended that Perkins Coie attorneys review the Court’s rules of professional conduct and complete one hour of Continuing Legal Education in the area of Ethics and Professionalism, specifically candor with the court.

“Elias has no valid explanation for the misleading submissions to the Fifth Circuit. Even when they were notified that they violated ethical rules, they refused to withdraw their motion. They were aware of their violations and blatantly chose to ignore them,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I thank the Court for issuing these much-needed sanctions. Perkins Coie cannot continue to mislead the Court, especially in a matter as important as election integrity.”

Read a copy of the sanctions here. 

AG Paxton Announces Multistate Settlement with AMCA Over 2019 Data Breach

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Texas joined a coalition of 41 attorneys general in an Agreed Judgment against Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau d/b/a American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), resolving an investigation of AMCA’s 2019 data breach that exposed the personal information of over seven million individuals, including approximately 1.4 million Texans.

AMCA collected small balance medical debts primarily on behalf of laboratories and medical testing facilities. From August 1, 2018, through March 30, 2019, an unauthorized user gained access to AMCA’s internal systems and accessed consumers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers, payment card information, and names of medical tests and associated diagnostic codes.

AMCA provided notice of this breach to over seven million affected individuals and offered two years of free credit monitoring. In June 2019, AMCA also filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York.

“Companies that fail to implement reasonable and effective data security systems put Texans at risk of identity theft. As long as companies fail to secure consumers’ data, we will continue pursuing these types of lawsuits in the interest of protecting Texans,” said Attorney General Paxton. “This settlement, like many before it, serves as a reminder that businesses must keep in compliance with state laws and maintain reasonable safeguards to protect Texans’ information.”

Under the terms of the judgment, AMCA and its principals agreed to implement and maintain a series of data security practices designed to strengthen its information security program and safeguard the personal information of consumers.

AMCA also may be liable for a $21 million total civil penalty payment to the states; however, because of AMCA’s financial condition, that payment is suspended unless the company violates certain terms of the judgment.

Read a copy of the Agreed Judgment here.

Purdue Pharma Files Bankruptcy Plan, Establishing Trust for Nationwide Opioid Abatement Efforts Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton plays critical leadership role adding billions to the trust

AUSTIN –Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that Purdue Pharma filed its estimated $7 billion bankruptcy plan, which places the value of the company into a trust set up to allocate funds toward opioid abatement efforts across the nation.

Texas is a leader on an instrumental committee in this bankruptcy, negotiating these abatement dollars which includes additional amounts in excess of a billion dollars from the Sackler family, which owned Purdue. This brings a total of $4.275 billion of family earnings into the bankruptcy estate and will end the Sackler family’s hold on the opioid industry.

“For years, my office has aggressively worked to hold Purdue Pharma accountable for its reckless contributions to the opioid crisis. Countless lives have been destroyed and derailed by the nationwide opioid crisis, but today’s bankruptcy plan is a sustainable, transparent solution with necessary accountability measures in place,” said Attorney General Paxton. “We hope that communities can begin turning Purdue dollars into new treatment facilities, educational programs, foster homes, and much more by the start of 2022. And while victims of the opioid crisis heal, I will continue pursuing other companies to hold them accountable and recover resources for Texans.”

 

Notification of Opinion

Original Request Summary RQ-0401-KP
Whether under the Utilities Code the Public Utility Commission has the legal authority to issue orders affecting pricing for the wholesale electricity market and ancillary services.

Official Opinion Summary KP-0363
The Utilities Code gives “complete authority” to the Public Utility Commission to adopt and enforce rules relating to reliability and accounting for the production and delivery of electricity among market participants. Specifically, subsection 39.151(d) of the Utilities Code authorizes the Public Utility Commission to oversee and investigate the independent organization (ERCOT) as necessary to ensure ERCOT’s accountability and to ensure that it adequately performs its functions and duties. Within the regulatory timelines, ERCOT can also revise pricing on the wholesale electricity market if certain events occur.

Under the plain language of subsection 39.151(d), the Public Utility Commission has complete authority to act to ensure that ERCOT has accurately accounted for electricity production and delivery among market participants in the region. Such authority likely could be interpreted to allow the Public Utility Commission to order ERCOT to correct prices for wholesale electricity and ancillary services during a specific timeframe.

A court would likely find that such corrective action by the Public Utility Commission under subsection 39.151(d) does not raise constitutional concerns, namely under article 1, sections 16 and 17 of the Texas Constitution, provided that such regulatory action furthers a compelling public interest.

Request for Opinion

Official Request Summary RQ-0400-KP
Authority of a district attorney to represent the State in litigation over an emergency protective order under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.292 issued by a municipal judge sitting as a magistrate.

Date Received
Monday, March 15, 2021

Official Requestor
The Honorable Mark A. Gonzalez
Nueces County District Attorney
901 Leopard, Room 206
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401

Request for Opinion

Official Request Summary RQ-0401-KP
Whether the Public Utility Commission has legal authority to issue orders affecting pricing for the wholesale electricity market and ancillary services

Date Received
Monday, March 15, 2021

Official Requestor
The Honorable Dan Patrick
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068