Western Union refunds $153m for scam victims
Refunds worth $153 million are being sent to 109,000 US consumers affected by a series of fraudulent payments conducted by Western Union.
Western Union settled the 2017 case for $586m
The distribution is the first of a series of refunds Western Union has been compelled to issue following 2017 regulatory action levelled against it by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“Western Union turned a blind eye to the fraudulent payments made through its money transfer system,” says Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“We’re glad to be returning money to those consumers who were ripped off by fraudsters exploiting the Western Union system, and we will not tolerate Western Union or other payment companies facilitating fraud.”
The company’s settlement with the FTC required Western Union to pay $586 million in monetary relief. The $153 million figure is the first of multiple payments over the coming months to consumers who lost money.
The FTC, US Department of Justice (DOJ), and US Postal Inspection Service oversaw the 2017 enforcement action.
It charged Western Union with an awareness that fraudsters around the world used the company’s money transfer system, and that agents at the firm were complicit.
The investigation uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars being sent to China in structured transactions designed to avoid the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act.
Related: Wells Fargo agrees to pay $2 billion fine for fraudulent account furore
According to US Attorney Eileen Decker most of the funds were being sent by illegal immigrants to pay their human smugglers.
A Western Union agent plead guilty to federal charges of structuring illegal transactions, which the company had known about for five years.
Documents seen at the time by the watchdogs showed that Western Union had fought keep hold of the employee in question because of the high volume of their activity.
“The losses and the number of victims in this case are staggering,” says John Walker, assistant postal inspector in charge at the US Postal Inspection Service.
“Today, we are happy to play [a role in] returning money to those who were scammed, delivering justice, and in this case, delivering restitution.”
Read more: Western Union and MoneyGram report losses
How do I get my money back from Western Union + Wire Transfers Froad. – I have the case # with Western Union .
I sent moneys to peoples with western union also have a lot of saved communication postal sllips, amounts and peoples names these people need to be held accountable ,Carmen lepointe,sent up first bunch
I filed the papers for the fraud and it’s been a couple years or more I haven’t heard from you guys or go a refund from the scammers
I also got scammed by Kevin Mccrae of an amount of R57 171.25 through Western union tower during 2015-2016 year and when I contacted western union they said only people who were scammed from 2004-2012, is this true? Because from the publishing I read they said from 2004-2017 and I have a copy thereof.
I havent seen a penny but emails that is scams about the funds. I been a victim and went to the police and the post office about it
I paid $3000 into a western union account to be scammed and never seen my money again. Found out it was a lady in India who had scammed me.