The Department of Justice has ordered MoenyGram to compensate its victims after its 2018 lawsuit. MoneyGram was sued for failing to take proactive steps to reduce scams in its system. Aneka Duncan of Newsbreak reported the company would distribute $155 million in compensation to its 38,889 victims.
It should be noted that MoneyGram agreed with FTC in 2009 to make a fraud prevention program. The company was required to restrict, suspend, investigate, and terminate high-fraud agents.
Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “MoneyGram violated an FTC order by continuing to let scammers rip off its customers.” The FTC said the company is aware of “continued fraud on their payment network after the settlement” and accused of “turning a blind eye for years to numerous instances of suspicious activity by the company’s agents.”
Meanwhile, MoneyGram released a statement indicating that consumer fraud complaints have consistently decreased. Accordingly, it was only 0.0009% of the more than 100 million money transferred in 2022.
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DOJ ordered MoneyGram to give compensation to its 38,839 user victims. (Photo: KOMO News)
How to Claim?
U.S.-based MoneyGram users who sent money transfers between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017, and those who submitted claims during the open claims process in 2021 are eligible to claim the refund. The U.S. Sun reported that the final date to submit a petition was August 31, 2021.
The company said the payment would depend on the amount of money transferred. However, the expenses or fees sent through other companies will not be recovered.
Meanwhile, MoneyGram has not indicated the exact date of its distribution, but it may take up to one year or more since they need to review and verify applications.
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