(MONTGOMERY)—Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the claims period
is now open for eligible Alabama consumers, who were deceived into sending payments to
scammers using Western Union’s wire transfer service, to apply for compensation as the result
of a multi-state settlement with the company earlier this year.
A $586 million settlement fund is being administered by the Department of Justice’s
Victim Asset Recovery Program. At the time of the settlement, more than 7,624 complaints
from Alabama consumers had been filed. A total amount of $7,865,024 or more in refunds is
expected to be returned to Alabama consumers. The individual amounts will depend upon the
circumstances of each case.
Consumers may be eligible if they were a victim of a fraud-induced transfer using
Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017.
Claim forms should be mailed from the settlement administrator within the next two
weeks to affected consumers who reported the fraudulent transactions to the Attorney
General’s Office or to Western Union. The forms will contain instructions explaining how
consumers may file their claims to receive compensation.
Consumers who do not receive a claim form in the mail but believe they may have an
eligible claim, may visit http://www.westernunionremission.com or call 1-844-319-2124 for
more information on how to file a claim.
According to the settlement compensation website, the deadline to file a claim is
February 12, 2018.
In addition to consumer compensation, the settlement also required Western Union to
develop and put into action a comprehensive anti-fraud program designed to help detect and
prevent incidents where consumers who have been the victims of fraud use Western Union to
wire money to scam artists.
Consumers who have questions may contact Attorney General Marshall’s Consumer
Interest Division by calling 1-800-392-5658 or through the Attorney General’s website at
http://www.ago.alabama.gov/ConsumerInterestDiv.
