Maine Office of the Attorney General

Our Offices will be closed on Thursday, July 4 through Friday, July 5th. Have a safe holiday.

Our Offices will be closed today, June 19th, in observance of Juneteenth. Have a happy and safe holiday.

The Office is thrilled to have partnered with Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, In Her Presence and Hope Acts to talk about preventing immigration legal assistance scams. The meeting is the culmination of two years' worth of discussions about the problem in the community. For more information click here: https://www.maine.gov/ag/immigration/

Our office is seeking applications for volunteer mediators for our Consumer Mediation Service!

Volunteers will be thoroughly trained to mediate consumer complaints in the Attorney General’s Augusta Office on a variety of matters including express and implied warranty issues, housing, motor vehicles, and more.

For the application and more info, click here: https://www.maine.gov/ag/about/volunteer_mediators.shtml

It's National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Our Victims Compensation Program served 764 victims and family members of victims of crime last year. Recipients include victims of violent crimes, like homicide, domestic and sexual abuse and assault. Benefits from the Program help victims cover crime-related expenses like funeral costs, medical bills, and lost wages. The Program also paid for 215 sexual assault forensic examinations in 2023. The OAG is proud to house this Program to support victims and their families.

It was a true pleasure to meet with the bright young students at EqualityMaine's youth lobby day earlier this month. We have no doubt there are some future Maine leaders in the group!

We are so proud to share that our very own Director of Victim Services, Cara Cookson, will be honored by the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce for her incredible work supporting victims and their families after Lewiston's tragic mass casualty event in October. Congratulations, and thank you for all your hard work!

Thanks to Maine Public Maine Calling for hosting Attorney General Frey yesterday to talk about some of the great work of the Office!

Attorney General Aaron Frey Maine's top legal official discusses the issues that are on his plate

Ever been sold a seriously defective product? We now have a sample letter for you to use Maine's implied warranty law to request repair or replacement. 👇

www.maine.gov

Thanks to WGME-TV for hosting AG Frey to talk about robocalls. While we work with attorneys general from across the country to stop them, you can protect yourself by simply not answering calls from numbers you don't know and hanging up as soon as you realize it's a spam call.

'Do not engage:' Maine experts offer tips to avoid unwanted spam calls During this National Consumer Protection Week, the I-Team is on your side, with ways to protect your money and identity.

We get lots of calls about scammers demanding gift cards. No legitimate organization will ever ask you for a gift card for payment or ask you to purchase a gift card to redeem a prize. For more information about gift card scams, see the FTC's website here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/avoiding-and-reporting-gift-card-scams

It's Consumer Protection Week!

The Consumer Protection Division of the OAG is our most contacted division, fielding thousands of consumer complaints each year. We will be sharing some tips this week to keep you informed of your rights, help you navigate tricky situations and avoid scams.

Our Offices will be closed Monday, February 19th for Presidents Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, February 20th.

The Office is proud to support University of Maine School of Law's Rural Access Clinic. Geography should not limit anyone's access to justice.

Fun fact Friday: In an effort to expand access to justice and grow the rural attorney workforce, in 2023 the University of Maine School of Law launched its inaugural Rural Practice Clinic in Fort Kent as a three-year pilot. The pilot was made possible through a partnership with the University of Maine at Fort Kent and with the strong bipartisan support of the Maine Legislature, the Maine Office of the Attorney General and Governor Janet Mills.

In just its first year, the Rural Practice Clinic served 81 low-income clients in the County in both civil and criminal matters and provided life-changing opportunities for five student attorneys, including one who has since moved to the St. John Valley to live and practice.

The impact of the Rural Practice Clinic is in addition to the
estimated 14,000 hours of pro bono legal aid Maine Law students provide Mainers annually in Androscoggin, Cumberland and York Counties through our permanent Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Maine School of Law.

Learn more about the Rural Practice Clinic: https://mainelaw.maine.edu/academics/clinics-and-centers/clac/rural-practice-clinic/

University of Maine Graduate & Professional Center
Maine Law Student Bar Association (SBA)

This is an important reminder that official organizations will never call you demanding money in bitcoin, gift cards, or money orders. Hang up, don't worry about being polite, and call our office or your local law enforcement to report the scam.

Police warn public of recent calls impersonating a Bangor lieutenant Police said the calls appear on caller ID as the Bangor Police Department, but they are not actually from the department.

Our Offices will be closed Monday, 1/15 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, 1/16.

State Offices will be closed Monday, January 1st and will reopen on Tuesday, Jan 2nd. From all of us at the Office of the Attorney General, have a happy and safe holiday.

UPDATE: All State Offices will remain CLOSED on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 to allow time for power restoration and road clean up following Monday’s storm.

All state offices are on a delayed opening schedule today until Noon to allow additional time for power restoration, road cleanup, and other cleanup efforts after yesterday's storm.
Offices in the Cross Office Building in Augusta (which includes the OAG Augusta) will remain closed all day Tuesday to allow for crews to remove scaffolding on the exterior of the building that was damaged in the storm. All State employees, as well as members of the public, are asked to remain clear of the building as those cleanup efforts occur.
Mainers are encouraged to stay off the roads as much as possible and to give space to first responders and crews working to restore power and clean up the roads. We'll keep you updated should the above opening and closure plans change.

Our Offices will be closed November 23rd-24 for Thanksgiving. Have a safe and happy holiday.

“Mainers are generous people and when tragedy strikes, I know the noble urge to support victims and impacted communities is strong,” said Attorney General Frey. “At the same time, we know that scammers take advantage of people’s generosity and want to remind the public to make sure you know where your donation is going.”

For tips to avoid scammers when donating to charities, click here: https://www.maine.gov/ag/news/article.shtml?id=12115231

Our Office will be closed on Friday, November 10 in observance of Veterans Day. Thank you today and every day to all who have served.

Our Office was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Rep. Lois Reckitt. Rep. Reckitt was a tireless advocate for victims and working alongside her to strengthen Maine's laws for victims of crime was a true pleasure. We will miss her passion, conviction and humor.

Our Office is working together with Maine State Police, the FBI Victim Services Division, and the Red Cross to open a Family Assistance Center to provide support services for victims.

There will also be a separate mental health site for the larger community.

For more details about timing and locations, see the FBI's dedicated page: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/resources-for-victims-lewiston-maine-shooting .

"My heart continues to ache for the loss of life and infliction of harm perpetrated on the people of Lewiston last night...I have every confidence that the talented professionals leading this manhunt and ongoing investigation are bringing all assets to bear to locate the suspect and to reconstruct the events surrounding his actions. Those efforts are multiplied by a range of local, state and federal partners who are collaborating with forces in Lewiston and surrounding areas. The Office of the Attorney General stands behind this intensive effort and is prepared to vigorously prosecute these heinous acts of violence." See Attorney General Frey's full statement here: https://www.maine.gov/ag/news/article.shtml?id=12040763

Our Offices will be closed today in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day.

Our friends at the Maine State Archives shared this handwritten journal containing notes and maps created in 1820 by Joseph Treat as he surveyed land on and around the northern border of the new state of Maine. For more information see the book Wabanaki Homeland and the New State of Maine: The 1820 Journal and Plans of Survey of Joseph Treat, edited by Micah A. Pawling.

It can be found at https://digitalmaine.com/hist_docs/1/

Thank you for all you do to support victims! We are proud to work with you.

MECASA friends and sexual assault advocates from R**e Response Services, Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Services, Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, and Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine were so happy to join this year's Opening Summit at the Maine Victim Assistance Academy! Alongside members of 30 different agencies, advocates got a chance to learn how to better serve victims of crime in our state.

MECASA is proud to help train alongside Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Wabanaki Women's Coalition, and the Maine Office of the Attorney General so that those that serve victims of crime in our state have the best training available to do their jobs!

Thanks to the wonderful staff at the William Fogg Library in Eliot for inviting us and Representative Michele Meyer to talk about scam prevention last night. For more information about protecting yourself from scams and financial exploitation, see our website: https://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/scams.shtml

🚨SCAM ALERT🚨 from our colleagues at the U.S. Marshals Service:

"The U.S. Marshals Service in Maine is alerting the public of a phone scam involving individuals claiming to be U.S. Marshals or other Federal Officials.

During these calls, scammers are 'spoofing' actual U.S. Marshals office phone numbers attempting to fraudulently collect money or suffer legal consequences. The scammers claim potential victims need to 'pay a fine or post bond' or face being arrested, losing their property, banking accounts or other consequences.

The scammers use many convincing tactics such as, citing publicly available information of prospective victims, which may include old residential addresses and phone numbers to appear credible. They may also provide fictitious information such as law enforcement badge and case numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials to further appear legitimate.

Scammers may also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller IDs as if they are calling from a government agency such as the U.S. Marshals Service.

The U.S. Marshals Service urges the public to be vigilant if you receive any calls of this nature and contact the agency in question by calling them directly from verified official websites to authenticate the information. If you believe you were a victim of such a scam, you are encouraged to report the incident to your local FBI office and to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)."

For more details: https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/press-release/us-marshals-maine-warn-of-recent-phone-scams

"Maine should be a safe, welcoming place for everyone,” said Attorney General Frey. “The Maine Civil Rights Act recognizes that bias-based incidents like this one cause not only extreme harm to the victim but also to others in the community who might fear similar, unlawful, treatment. That is why my office will continue to pursue civil injunctions to protect communities targeted for their identities.”

Editorial: Welcome to Maine. Unless you’re a racist. "Far too many people equate being American to being white, as if people from other backgrounds are automatically not from here."