Author: Elizabeth Blessing
-
Dr. Squatch buyers from November 2018 through August 2026 can claim from a natural-labeling settlement until Nov. 27
Soap, shampoo and deodorant sold as “natural” are at the center of a $9 million settlement, and anyone who bought Dr. Squatch products between November 1, 2018 and August 29, 2026 can file a claim by November 27, 2026. The company denies the allegations. The case, Guzman et al. v. Dr. Squatch, LLC, is pending…
-
A former federal employee pleaded guilty Oct. 6 to taking about $194 million in government funds through a made-up secret program
Agents who searched a Virginia home in May say they found 298 gold bars. On Oct. 6, the man who lived there, David J. Rush, 49, of Ashburn, pleaded guilty in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia to executing a scheme to defraud the federal government, the Justice Department announced. Prosecutors say Rush…
-
Social Security takes public comments until Nov. 23 on 11 information collections, including the adult disability report filed by more than 1.7 million people a year
Anyone can tell Social Security what is wrong with its paperwork until November 23. A notice the agency published in the Federal Register on September 24 opens a public comment period on eleven information collections, a category that includes the Disability Report – Adult, Form SSA-3368, which the notice puts at 1,745,348 respondents a year.…
-
Treasury’s temporary rules for the new federal scholarship tax credit take effect Dec. 1, before contributions open Jan. 1, 2027
Treasury and the IRS have issued temporary rules for the new federal scholarship tax credit, and they take effect Dec. 1, 2026. Contributions to scholarship groups open a month later, on Jan. 1, 2027. The rules were published in the Federal Register on Oct. 2, and the regulations say they are effective on Dec. 1,…
-
AT&T’s data breach settlement won final approval on Oct. 2, though the administrator says the cash available to each claimant is still unknown
A federal judge has signed off on AT&T’s data breach settlement, but no one can yet say what a claimant will be paid. The settlement website says the court granted final approval on October 2, 2026, and adds that “the amount of money that will be available for Settlement Class Member Cash Payments is unknown…
-
A former TD Bank employee pleaded guilty Oct. 6 to laundering about $4.8 million after handing out hundreds of debit cards and unblocking fraud-flagged cards
Eighty-six accounts, one Miami commercial address, and a bank employee who was being paid on the side. That is how federal prosecutors describe the case against Gerardo Aquino, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, a former TD Bank employee who pleaded guilty on Oct. 6 in federal court in New Jersey, according to the Justice Department. Aquino…
-
OPM says anti-fraud work saved federal health plans over $500 million in 2025
The Office of Personnel Management and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud say anti-fraud work saved the federal government’s two employee health programs more than $500 million in 2025. The programs are the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, or FEHB, and the Postal Service Health Benefits Program, or PSHB. The figure is OPM’s…
-
Postal workers’ and retirees’ share of PSHB premiums rises 8.2 percent on average in 2027
Postal Service employees and annuitants in the Postal Service Health Benefits Program, or PSHB, will pay an average of 8.2 percent more as their share of premiums in 2027. The figure comes from the Office of Personnel Management’s highlights for plan year 2027. The overall average PSHB premium, counting what the government pays, rises 6.7…
-
Federal employees and retirees face an average 10.9 percent rise in their share of FEHB premiums for 2027, OPM says
The share of health insurance premiums that federal employees and retirees pay themselves will rise an average of 10.9 percent for 2027, the Office of Personnel Management says. The figure is for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, known as FEHB, and comes from OPM’s highlights for plan year 2027. The overall average premium, which…
-
Homes heated by electricity will spend slightly more this winter, the Energy Department forecasts
Heating with electricity usually means one monthly bill and no fuel deliveries, but this winter that bill is forecast to edge up. The Energy Information Administration says in its October 6 Short-Term Energy Outlook: “We forecast homes that use electricity as the main heating source will spend slightly more this winter.” The agency, part of…