Attorney General Tong Announces Investigation Into AT&T Over Unauthorized Charges

Press Releases

08/18/2025

Attorney General Tong Announces Investigation Into AT&T Over Unauthorized Charges

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today announced an investigation into AT&T over unauthorized charges added to customer accounts. The civil investigation follows criminal charges filed against a former AT&T employee in Stafford, Connecticut alleged to have added unauthorized lines to customer accounts in a ploy to earn bonuses and commissions.

“In multiple instances, AT&T employees are alleged to have opened fraudulent lines and added unauthorized charges to win bonuses. We need to understand whether these were isolated bad actors, or whether there is something about AT&T’s practices that is incentivizing or enabling more widespread fraud. If you have information relevant to this investigation, we want to hear from you. And, if you are a customer, please double check your accounts, and report any unauthorized charges,” said Attorney General Tong.

Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to file a complaint here.

“This is precisely the sort of inter-agency cooperation that benefits Connecticut residents. I am pleased that Connecticut State Police expertise with financial crimes, fraud, and computer crimes played a critical role in this investigation," said Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins. “I look forward to future cooperation between DESPP, the Connecticut State Police, and Attorney General Tong.”

The civil investigative demand sent to AT&T seeks information on the company’s footprint in Connecticut, all complaints from Connecticut consumers regarding unauthorized charges, as well as its procedures to prevent unauthorized charges and services, what steps the company takes when an unauthorized charge is reported, and details regarding the company’s sales compensation plan policies. Finally, the civil investigative demand seeks all documents relating to responses to other regulatory actions and law enforcement investigations, both civil and criminal.

Former AT&T employee Katie Barnaby of Stafford, Connecticut was first arrested in January on charges of computer crimes in the third degree. A Connecticut State Police investigation found that between 2021 and 2022, Barnaby added or removed insurance plans at least 30 times, costing customers over $1,000 in unauthorized charges. In other instances, she added unauthorized phone and tablet lines to customer accounts, including one instance that cost a victim approximately $2,000. After her arrest, State Police continued to investigate and filed additional charges against Barnaby in June. Her cases remain pending in Rockville Superior Court. According to the arrest warrant for Barnaby, State Police found similar fraudulent schemes in Michigan, where multiple store managers allegedly directed employees to add certain unauthorized services to all customer accounts to earn bonuses ranging from $300 to $3,000 tied to achieving a 90 percent “close rate” on those services.

The civil investigative demand further seeks information concerning the employment of Barnaby, records of any company investigation into her unauthorized charges.

Assistant Attorney General Joseph Gasser and Michael Wertheimer, Chief of the Consumer Protection Section, are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

Facebook: CT Attorney General

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov