Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that the refund program for the Western Union settlement in January 2017 is now underway. Approximately 39,000 Texans may be eligible for refunds, which will be distributed from a $586 million nationwide fund to benefit consumers who were deceived into sending payments to fraudsters using Western Union’s wire transfer service.
“Scam artists are always looking for new ways to fool people into wiring them money, including schemes involving deceiving people into believing they are speaking with family members, romantic interests, lotteries or contests,” Attorney General Paxton said. “These fraudsters will be held accountable for their abuse of hardworking Texans.”
These fraudsters contacted consumers and sometimes posed as family members in distress who needed money to be wired to them and other times falsely promised to provide prizes, job opportunities or credit services to consumers. Texans who believe they were a victim of these fraud related money transfers between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017 are eligible to recover refunds through this settlement and may submit a claim (called a Remission Form) by going to the website of the Settlement Administrator here: www.westernunionremission.com. All claims must be submitted on or before February 12, 2018.
The global settlement requiring Western Union to forfeit $586 million dollars was entered with the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The related multistate settlement included Texas, 49 other states and the District of Columbia. The settlement is being administered by the DOJ’s Victim Asset Recovery Program.