New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced approximately $2.5 million in settlements for two fraud cases.

In the first settlement, the Clifton Park, N.Y.-based County Waste, and its President Scott Earl, will pay nearly $1 million to the town of Colonie, N.Y. State, and a whistleblower.

The company allegedly violated the New York State False Claims Act by underreporting the amount of waste deposited in the town of Colonie’s landfill via vouchers it submitted.  Cuomo claimed this action undercut the amount of money the company owed the town.

While County Waste maintains it operated legally, under terms of the settlement the company and Scott Earl will pay a total of $986,186. The whistleblower in the case will be awarded $163,651 from this amount. 

The second case involves misleading advertisements on the part of PlasmaNet, Inc. which owns FreeLotto.com. 

FreeLotto.com allows customers to play free online lottery games.  Consumers can either visit the website for free or purchase a $14.99 per month subscription to the website.  PlasmaNet sent misleading e-mails to players of “pending” prizes, which led them to links where they unknowingly purchased the monthly subscription.

The company will pay $1.5 million in penalties, costs and fees to the state, and will provide refunds to eligible consumers. 

Click here to read the full article, “Cuomo Reaches Pair of Settlements”.