As National Consumer Protection Week comes to a close, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is highlighting some of the work her office does to protect Michigan residents. From mediating consumer complaints to advocating for stronger protections, the Department of Attorney General has a proven track record of supporting consumers.
“My office has done a tremendous job equipping Michigan consumers with the tools to recognize scams, fight fraud, and demand corporate accountability,” Nessel said. “From reviewing consumer complaints to holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic to scrutinizing utility rate cases, we are committed to protecting Michigan consumers. My Department will continue to ensure that scammers, large corporations, and utility companies alike are held accountable for their actions.”
The Consumer Protection Team reviews every single complaint received by the office, either via online complaint form or phone call. Many of these complaints were successfully mediated, and others led to investigations, lawsuits, or the identification of scams. Scams change with the season, and the Department issues regular alerts with the latest information when new ploys crop up so residents can spot and avoid scammers. The Department also launched a dedicated consumer protection website in November 2023, which includes an easily searchable library of alerts and resources. Currently, the Department’s website features more than 140 consumer alerts.
Attorney General Nessel also travels the state, presenting these tips at community hubs and senior care facilities to keep those most vulnerable to scams well-informed about the Department’s resources, which are constantly at their disposal.
Beyond consumer education, Attorney General Nessel is advocating for stronger protections in the Consumer Protection Act. Michigan has the strictest limitations in the nation, often complicating the investigative process and limiting the recourse the Department can seek on behalf of residents and businesses alike. In January 2022, Nessel launched an investigation into insulin manufacturer Eli Lilly and asked the Michigan Supreme Court to reconsider the two previous rulings that hinder the Department’s ability to take action against drug manufacturers and other regulated/licensed entities through a misconstruction of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. The Court heard oral arguments in that matter last year.
On a national level, Attorney General Nessel recently joined other attorneys general in filing two amicus briefs to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after the Trump administration told employees to stop working on cases investigating deceptive and abusive conduct by companies. This included dismissing a lawsuit accusing Rocket Homes of offering kickbacks to brokers and agents who referred homebuyers to Rocket Mortgage. Since its creation, the CFPB has helped millions of Americans by assisting homeowners facing foreclosure stay in their homes, stopping banks from charging junk fees, and returning more than $20 billion to the pockets of consumers. To raise awareness about the agency’s impact, Attorney General Nessel released a video about the threats facing the Bureau.
Since taking office in 2019, Attorney General Nessel has also prioritized combatting the opioid epidemic and holding accountable those responsible for creating and fueling the crisis. Her efforts have resulted in more than $1.6 billion in settlements for Michigan governments, including more than $270 million in 2024, from companies such as McKinsey & Co, Distributors (Cardinal Health, McKesson, Inc., and AmerisourceBergen), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical, Allergan Pharmaceutical, CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens. The money is distributed to the state and local units of government for opioid-use disorder treatment and remediation.
To ensure transparency in opioid settlement distributions, the Attorney General launched a webpage dedicated to the opioid settlement distributions in March 2024. The webpage is intended to help residents and local units of government find multiple sources of information in one place, including an opioid settlement payment estimator searchable by individual settlement, municipality, and year of receipt.
Attorney General Nessel has also been a strong advocate for Michigan utility customers. The Department carefully scrutinizes every utility rate case before the Michigan Public Service Commission, helping secure more than $3.7 billion in savings for customers since 2019, including nearly $439 million in 2024 alone. She also launched a webpage dedicated to the Department's work intervening in utility cases on behalf of Michigan ratepayers. The site is intended to help residents and local units of government find multiple sources of information in one place.
In her fight against fraud, Attorney General Nessel partnered with other attorneys general from across the country to form a multistate Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to crack down on illegal robocall operations and joined in multistate efforts against unwanted automated calls. Attorney General Nessel also launched the Michigan Identity Theft Support System, which assists residents seeking to restore their identities after they’ve been stolen, as well as a Business Identity Theft support program to help small business owners in a similar predicament.
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