Penalty Amount
$21,000,000
Consumers Affected
7,000,000
AMCA suffered an eight-month data breach from August 2018 to March 2019, exposing personal information including Social Security numbers, payment card data, and medical test details of over 7 million individuals nationwide, including 246,000 New Jersey residents. The multistate settlement requires AMCA to implement enhanced data security measures and pay $21 million, though payment is suspended due to the company's financial situation.
AMCA must create and implement an information security program with an incident response plan, employ a qualified Chief Information Security Officer, hire a third-party certified auditor for security assessments, and cooperate with state attorneys general in related investigations, along with paying a suspended $21 million penalty.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor agreements with healthcare service providers, data processing agreements, and business associate agreements (BAAs) under HIPAA. Specifically scrutinize clauses governing data security standards, breach notification timelines and procedures, audit rights, data encryption requirements, and indemnification provisions for data breaches. Given the settlement's focus on inadequate security leading to exposure of SSNs, payment cards, and medical information, contracts may need amendments to mandate specific technical safeguards (e.g., encryption, access controls), require regular security audits by the vendor, clarify breach reporting obligations (including to state attorneys general), and strengthen liability and remediation terms.
Entity
Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau d/b/a American Medical Collection Agency
Also known as: American Medical Collection Agency
Industry
HealthcareOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/ag-grewal-announces-multistate-settlement-with-american-medical-collection-agency-over-2019-data-breach/
NJ AMCA Complaint
https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases21/NJ-AMCA-Complaint.pdf
NJAMC Consent Judgment
https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases21/NJAMC-Consent-Judgment.pdf
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau d/b/a American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA)"
"Although ACMA also agreed to pay $21 million"
"an unauthorized user gained access to the company’s internal system, collecting a broad array of personal information. The information included Social Security numbers, payment card information and, in some instances, the names of medical tests and diagnostic codes."
A multistate coalition co-led by New Jersey won a federal court order rejecting the Trump Administration’s decision not to request funding for the CFPB. The order struck down that decision and directed the Administration to follow the law and fund the agency; no monetary penalty or privacy violation is described.
New Jersey’s Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs alerted the public that three synthetic kratom-related compounds became illegal to possess or sell in the state under a temporary federal scheduling order. The release describes a controlled-substance alert, not a privacy enforcement action, and identifies no company, privacy violation, or monetary penalty.
$2.3M
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings agreed to pay $2,287,455 to participating states and strengthen its security and vendor-management practices following an investigation into the 2019 breach at its debt-collection vendor, AMCA. The breach potentially exposed information of more than 27.5 million people nationwide, including sensitive information belonging to approximately 10.2 million LabCorp patients.
$694.0M
New Jersey's Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs, along with 41 Attorneys General, reached a $694 million settlement with subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation over allegations it originated unaffordable loans its own systems predicted borrowers could not repay, employed aggressive debt-collection tactics, and failed to prevent deceptive vehicle-service contract and GAP product 'packing' by dealers. The multistate settlement stepped in after the CFPB permanently dropped its 2023 enforcement action against CAC in 2025. CAC will provide $60 million in cash restitution, $634 million in debt relief, an additional $15 million to the states, and implement injunctive lending reforms including loan off ramps, pre-loan disclosures, add-on packing safeguards, and a seven-year vehicle price cap. Note: this is a consumer-protection lending enforcement action, not a privacy matter; violation categories are best-fit mappings from the available taxonomy.
$650K
The New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs announced that Match Group, Inc. will pay $650,000 and change its business practices to settle allegations that it misrepresented or failed to disclose its criminal background screening policies and practices to New Jersey users, violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Internet Dating Safety Act. Under a Consent Order, Match must accurately represent its screening policies, notify existing New Jersey members of updated disclosures within 150 days, and post clear and conspicuous disclosures and safety notifications about the limitations of criminal background screenings.
$96.5M
New Jersey and a coalition of states and territories obtained preliminary approval for a plan to distribute funds from settlements with generic drug manufacturers accused of conspiring to raise drug prices. The settlements total approximately $96.5 million, and eligible consumers may submit claims for compensation.