News Releases

WHAT VIRGINIANS ARE SEEING: ATTORNEY GENERAL JAY JONES SHARES WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF ACTIONS TAKEN

Defends fair housing and protects consumers

RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Jay Jones continued fighting for the Commonwealth, securing a $2.25 million landmark settlement in a fair housing case, holding broadcast titans accountable for court violations, and agrees on a settlement in a national data privacy case.

Secures Landmark Fair Housing Settlement

Last week, Attorney General Jay Jones and the Office of Civil Rights secured a landmark $2.25 million settlement against a deeply discriminatory landlord. The terms of the settlement are sweeping and demand that, among other terms, Merryman never be a landlord in the Commonwealth again.

PRESS RELEASE: Attorney General Jay Jones Secures Landmark $2.25 Million Settlement Against Discriminatory Landlord

“Our friends, neighbors, communities, and families have the right to be treated with respect and dignity throughout the housing process, as guaranteed by the Virginia Fair Housing Law and the Fair Housing Act. Anyone found in violation of these laws will be held accountable by this office and justice will be achieved for tenants who face discrimination,” said Attorney General Jones. “We are in a new era of civil rights enforcement in the Commonwealth. Returning this office to the people means returning energy and talent to the cases that went neglected far too long. The attorneys who first brought this case to court under my predecessor, former Attorney General Mark Herring — Helen Hardiman and Palmer Heenan — are back in this office leading efforts to safeguard the civil rights of all Virginians. Discriminatory harassment has no place in our Commonwealth and will play no role in the future we are creating for those who come after us.”

13 News Now: Virginia Attorney General speaking out after former landlord ordered to pay $2.25 million to tenants

“David Merryman has to divest his properties within a year and he can never be a landlord here in Virginia ever again. I think that this is a really strong signal to people who are not playing by the rules that we are ready and willing and able to take action to make sure that we’re pursuing justice on behalf of Virginians.”

WAVY: Hampton Roads landlord ordered to sell properties in $2.25M settlement

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones says the Office of Civil Rights reached a historic settlement in a fair housing case against David Merryman. Merryman is a notorious landlord with properties in Newport News and Norfolk. The settlement is in the amount of $2.25 million.

Merryman was already serving 17 years in prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment. The court found that Merryman harassed and abused tenants by calling them racist, sexist, and homophobic epithets, refusing to complete basic repairs in their homes, and evicting tenants who requested those repairs.

This settlement comes two years after Merryman was sentenced to federal prison for fraud and discriminatory practices. The terms of the settlement order the following of Merryman:

He can never be a landlord in the Commonwealth again.

He must sell all of his rental properties in Virginia within a year.

He must work with the courts to eliminate millions of dollars of eviction filings and judgments from the records of his past tenants. This action removes a serious barrier for tenants to obtain housing.

He must pay a monetary settlement of $2,250,000, which will be used to compensate tenants who were victims of his discriminatory behavior.

WHRO: Virginia Attorney General settles discrimination case from 2021 against ‘notorious’ Newport News landlord

A new settlement from Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones makes sure David Merryman’s days as a landlord are over.

Former AG Mark Herring sued Merryman in 2021. State courts found that Merryman called his tenants — most of whom were Black women — racist, sexist and homophobic slurs and evicted renters who requested repairs.

Merryman is already serving 17 years in prison for fraud and discriminatory practices, Jones wrote in the press release. And the consequences don’t end there, according to the new settlement announced Thursday.

Merryman can never be a landlord in Virginia again and must sell his rental properties in the state within a year. The settlement also orders Merryman to erase millions of dollars of eviction filings and judgements against past tenants —legal records that could prevent them from securing housing in the future.

Merryman also has to pay $2,250,000 to the tenants he discriminated against.

“Justice has come,” Palmer Heenan, who leads the AG’s Office of Civil Rights, wrote in the press release. “He can never again harm a tenant in the Commonwealth.”

Virginia Business: Attorney general’s office secures landmark settlement with discriminatory landlord

A Hampton Roads landlord previously sentenced to prison for discriminatory housing and employment practices will have to pay $2.25 million to the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia as part of a landmark settlement reached by the office.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced July 16 that the Office of Civil Rights reached the settlement in a fair housing case brought against David Merryman. Described in a press release from Jones’ office as “a notorious landlord in Newport News and Norfolk,” Merryman is serving a 17-year prison sentence for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and race-based interference with housing and employment.

Augusta Free Press: AG Jay Jones announces settlement in case with ‘slumlord from hell’

Attorney General Jay Jones announced a settlement in a fair housing case brought against David Merryman, called a “slumlord from hell” by one former tenant, who is serving 17 years in prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment.

Per the settlement, Merryman has to pay $2.25 million to his victims, is required to work with courts to eliminate millions of dollars of eviction filings and judgments from the records of his past tenants, and must sell all of his rental properties in Virginia within a year.

Probably obvious, he also had to agree to never be a landlord in the Commonwealth of Virginia again.

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Merryman, who was sentenced in 2024, owned more than 60 rental properties in Hampton and Newport News, and according to court documents, he regularly harassed his minority tenants with slurs, comments about slavery and death threats, and took advantage of COVID-19 rent-relief programs by using his tenants’ names and personal information without their consent and forging their signatures.

The COVID scheme enabled Merryman to obtain big money from state and federal relief programs without telling his tenants, then evicting those tenants that he’d exploited for unpaid rent.

The court documents tell us that Merryman primarily rented his properties, which were often in poor condition, some basically uninhabitable, to African American tenants with limited credit and housing options.

Protecting Consumers

Attorney General Jay Jones joined a coalition of attorneys general in alleging that Tegna and Nexstar are violating a court order as their merger case is in court. The Office of the Attorney General also secured a victory in a multistate lawsuit against 23andMe over a genetic data breach. The OAG was able to hold 23andMe accountable for its faulty security practices and secured over $650,000 for Virginia in the settlement.

PRESS RELEASE: Attorney General Jones Alleges Nexstar/Tegna are Violating Court Order

“Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our democracy, and the reality is the free press is under attack. Fewer local newsrooms mean fewer opportunities for the pursuit of the truth and reduced public accountability. This merger further jeopardizes journalistic integrity and independence of our media at time when it is needed most,” said Attorney General Jay Jones. “This office will continue to fight for consumers and for the people who rely on local news stations in communities across the Commonwealth.”

PRESS RELEASE: Attorney General Jones Secures Multistate Settlement of Bankruptcy Claims Against 23andMe over Genetic Data Breach

“Virginians and consumers globally have put their trust in companies like 23andMe to handle their DNA data responsibly as they seek to learn more about their family history and ancestry,” said Attorney General Jones. “Thanks to Virginia’s consumer protection laws, we were able to hold 23andMe accountable for their faulty security protocols that put consumers at risk, securing a $662,649 settlement.”

WDBJ7: VA and 41 other states reach settlement with 23andMe

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones along with 41 other state attorneys general reached a settlement with genetic testing company 23andMe, according to the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the Attorney General on Monday.

Jones and the coalition of state attorneys general reached a settlement with a bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe resolving accusations stemming from a 2023 data breach in which the genetic data of 7 million+ was compromised. States then sued to block the sale of 23andMe personal genetic data without customer consent after another biotechnology company sought permission from the court to buy 23andMe.

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The Office says the settlement included $150 million in allowed claims for states, but recovery was limited to $18 million to be paid out of available bankruptcy funds immediately; 23andMe also agreed to a $46.75 million class-action settlement in the bankruptcy to provide relief to affected U.S. consumers who submitted claims by February 17, 2026.

Along with general consumer protection and privacy laws, VA residents are also protected under Virginia’s Genetic Data Privacy law, which requires direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies to “implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect a consumer’s genetic data against unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.” Virginia Code § 59.1-597(1), according to Jones’ Office.

Jones’ Office said 23andMe failed to maintain proper security measures as required by this 2023 law; the settlement was the Commonwealth’s first relating to the new Genetic Data Privacy policy.

WAVY: AG Jones secures $660,000 in 23andMe data breach settlement

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones joined a coalition of 42 attorneys general announcing a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe, resolving allegations stemming from a 2023 data breach that compromised the genetic data of nearly seven million customers worldwide.

The settlement includes $150 million in allowed claims for states, but recovery is limited to $18 million to be paid out of available bankruptcy funds immediately.

Of the $18 million, Virginia will receive $662,649. 23andMe also agreed to a $46.75 million class-action settlement in the bankruptcy to provide relief to affected U.S. consumers who submitted claims by February 17, 2026.

23andMe is a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company. It announced it had discovered a data breach in October 2023, in which 6.9 million consumers were affected, including 170,495 in Virginia. The breach exposed a wide range of data about 23andMe customers, including in some cases genetic ancestry information, and subsets of this data were subsequently published for sale on the dark web.

According to a press release from Jones’ office, 23andMe learned about the breach months after impacted personal information was publicly available, and at first denied there was a breach before confirming it and blaming consumers for how their accounts were set up or how passwords were used.

Published on: July 24, 2026

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