Penalty Amount
$1,270,000
Consumers Affected
3,370,000
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced a multistate settlement where Morgan Stanley will pay $1.27 million to NJ over data security incidents that compromised personal information of over 755,000 NJ residents and millions nationwide. The incidents involved improper decommissioning of devices and a software flaw, leading to unauthorized access. The settlement requires Morgan Stanley to strengthen its data security and disposal procedures.
Morgan Stanley must pay $1.27 million to New Jersey, maintain a comprehensive information security program, implement an incident response plan, regularly inventory hardware, maintain vendor inventories and risk ratings, require vendors to securely dispose of data and document it, and ensure subcontractors comply with security requirements.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements involving personal information processing, including vendor contracts, customer service agreements, employee data policies, and data processing addendums. Key clauses to assess are data security obligations, device and media disposal procedures, software vulnerability management, breach notification requirements, and data retention schedules. Based on the settlement, contracts may need amendments to enforce stricter security standards, mandate secure decommissioning of devices (e.g., data wiping or destruction), require regular security audits and vulnerability assessments, enhance breach notification timelines and scope, and ensure compliance with multistate data protection laws to mitigate risks from improper disposal and software flaws.
Entity
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC
Also known as: Morgan Stanley
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/ag-platkin-new-jersey-to-receive-1-27-million-in-multistate-settlement-with-morgan-stanley-over-data-security-incidents-that-compromised-personal-information-of-millions-of-individuals-nationwide/
2023 1116 Morgan Stanley Assurance of Voluntary Compliance
https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases23/2023-1116_Morgan-Stanley-Assurance-of-Voluntary-Compliance.pdf
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (“Morgan Stanley”)"
"New Jersey is to receive approximately $1.27 million"
"the data security incidents resulted in unauthorized third parties having the ability to access devices containing customers’ personal information"
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.