Griffin: ‘[T]hese divisions are uniquely positioned to be on the front lines of educating, protecting, and serving those who live, work, and invest in Arkansas’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement highlighting the work done by his office in 2023 on behalf of Arkansas consumers:

“Last week was officially National Consumer Protection Week, but in my office, we place the highest priority on protecting Arkansas consumers every day of the year. I want to publicly praise the work done by my office’s Public Protection Division (PPD) and Office of Community Relations (OCR). While everyone in the Office of the Attorney General is committed to serving our state’s consumers, these divisions are uniquely positioned to be on the front lines of educating, protecting, and serving those who live, work, and invest in Arkansas.

“In 2023, PPD closed 46 formal investigations, an increase of 17 over the previous year’s total. They also initiated 17 new lawsuits—five more than in 2022—and obtained $10.6 million via mediation, more than doubling the previous year’s total. PPD also investigated 229 8-1-1 (‘call before you dig’) complaints and received and processed information about 95 data breaches.

“These stats are only a portion of all that PPD did on behalf of Arkansas consumers in 2023. I am supremely proud of PPD, which operates under the leadership of Deputy Attorney General Chuck Harder.

“The Office of Community Relations is the primary conduit of interaction between my office and the people we serve. When a constituent calls or emails my office, a member of the OCR team will connect the constituent with resources within the office and services provided by other agencies/organizations. OCR also hosts events on issues facing Arkansans. Led by Anushree Jumde, the OCR team is an indispensable part of how the office functions, and they exemplify the commitment to service that I have prioritized.

“In 2023, OCR handled 48,457 phone calls and 42,953 emails. They held 36 events, which were attended by 5,426 people.”

To learn more about how the Office of the Attorney General serves Arkansas consumers, visit www.arkansasag.gov.

To download a PDF of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having
previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 27 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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