OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHNEIDER AND 37 ATTORNEYS GENERAL REACH A LANDMARK $68.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH ASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICALS

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

AUGUSTA ? Maine Attorney General William Schneider announces that the latest settlement in a global price-fixing case is helping to fill the shelves of the Good Shepherd Food Bank, the state?s largest distributor of emergency food to those in need. A portion of the settlement will also improve the ability of the State?s Emergency Food Assistance Program (administered by the Maine Department of Agriculture) to store and distribute frozen and refrigerated donated food for needy Mainers.

Attorney General William J. Schneider warns about an increasingly common scam: the call from a grandchild needing emergency money. The Consumer Protection Division recently took a call from a Maine grandfather who said he had been contacted by someone claiming to be his grandson. He said he was in jail in Canada and had been in an accident. When the grandfather said ?you don?t sound like Buddy?, the person said he had broken his nose in the accident. The grandfather decided to wire $2800 by Western Union.

AUGUSTA ? Attorney General William J. Schneider reaffirmed the jurisdiction of 21 domestic violence investigators yesterday from six district attorneys offices, seven sheriffs offices, and two police departments by swearing them in as statewide investigators. This marks the fifth year of a program started by the Attorney General?s Office that provides statewide law enforcement powers to domestic violence investigators so that their work does not have to stop at town or county lines.

AUGUSTA ? Attorney General William Schneider announced today that the York County Superior Court has ordered Michael Ryan, age 31, of Biddeford, to have no contact with two middle school students and to comply with the Maine Civil Rights Act.

Data Privacy Day brings together businesses, individuals, government agencies, nonprofit groups and academics to spotlight how personal data is collected, used and stored.

AUGUSTA ? Despite warnings, many computer users unknowingly leave themselves vulnerable to financial fraud or privacy invasions. In recognition of Data Privacy Day, Attorney General William Schneider today reminded Maine residents to protect their personal information by checking the privacy settings on social Web sites and using secured networks.

Attorney General Schneider Joins Multi-State Health Care Lawsuit

AUGUSTA ? At the request of Maine Attorney General William Schneider, the State of Florida will today move the federal court to allow Maine and several other states to join the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions of the federal health care reform law.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUSTA -- On January 6, 2011 William J. Schneider was sworn in as Maine?s 56th Attorney General by Governor Paul LePage. He was born and raised in Elma, New York son of Clayton and Phyllis Schneider. He graduated from the United State Military Academy at West Point and went on to serve with distinction in the U.S. Army, earning his Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab and Senior Airborne Wings, and being awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. He earned his law degree from the University of Maine Law School in 1993.

On the morning of April 23, 2010, Maine State Police Trooper Robert Flynn was dispatched to Van Buren to investigate a report that Neil Begin had threatened his wife, his adult son, and his son?s girlfriend with a high-powered hunting rifle the previous night at the family?s residence in Cyr Plantation. Begin was described by family members as highly intoxicated at the time of the threats.