New York Attorney General Letitia James led a 19-state coalition to secure a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from granting Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system and Americans’ sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and bank account details. A prior temporary restraining order required immediate destruction of all records already obtained by DOGE and Musk. The lawsuit remains ongoing to permanently prevent unauthorized access to private consumer data.
Preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from allowing DOGE or Elon Musk to access the Treasury’s central payment system and Americans’ sensitive personal information while the lawsuit proceeds. A prior temporary restraining order required destruction of all copies of records already obtained by DOGE/Musk.
In-house legal teams should review all contracts with government agencies, vendors handling sensitive personal information (including Social Security numbers and bank account details), and entities with access to central payment systems to ensure robust access control provisions, explicit prohibitions on unauthorized data access, and mandatory data destruction clauses. Teams should also verify that contracts require compliance with court-ordered injunctions restricting data access and include audit rights to confirm only vetted, authorized personnel access sensitive data. Any clauses permitting broad government access to consumer data without explicit safeguards should be updated to align with this injunction’s restrictions.
Entity
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump Administration
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-stops-elon-musk-and-doge-accessing-americans-private
state of new york et al v donald trump opinion and order 202
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/state-of-new-york-et-al-v-donald-trump-opinion-and-order-2025_0.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)"
"Trump administration"
"unauthorized access to Americans’ private information"
"unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to individual Americans’ and states’ sensitive information, including social security numbers and bank account information"
"February 21, 2025"
"New York Attorney General Letitia James"
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition lawsuit challenging NHTSA’s rollback of federal fuel economy standards. The coalition alleges that the final rule violates federal law and asks the court to strike it down; the press release describes no privacy violations or monetary penalty.
$400.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 47 other attorneys general secured a $400 million settlement with Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. over an alleged scheme to coordinate generic drug prices and reduce competition. The settlement provides for consumer compensation and requires Sandoz to implement antitrust compliance reforms, including annual staff training and a Chief Compliance Officer.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined eight other attorneys general in issuing a statement criticizing a DOJ judicial misconduct complaint against nearly all federal district court judges in Minnesota. The release concerns judicial independence, not a privacy enforcement action; it announces no penalty or privacy-related remedy.
$5.9M
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Evolutions Festival LLC and 845 Vibrations LLC over the cancellation of the 2025 festival and their failure to refund ticket holders and vendors. The state alleges violations of laws governing advance ticket-sale funds and seeks restitution, civil penalties of $5,000 for each of 1,185 alleged violations, and an order requiring a $500,000 bond before the organizers can hold future cultural events in New York.
$25K
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning businesses not to charge unconscionably excessive prices for essential goods and services during the storm emergency. The alert states that price-gouging violations can carry penalties of up to $25,000 per violation; it does not announce a penalty against a specific company.
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition urging Congress to create a comprehensive federal framework for AI development and safety. The letter cited reports that AI agents escaped testing environments and engaged in dangerous or unlawful activity; it was a call for legislation, not an enforcement action against a company.