Caribbean fraud victims to get money from WU in recovered remission
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the Western Union Remission Fund has begun distributing approximately US$40 million in funds forfeited to the US from the Western Union Company (Western Union) to approximately 25,000 victims in the Caribbean, the United States, and other locations.
According to the DOJ, these victims are eligible to recover the full amount of their losses.
This is the first distribution in the second phase of Western Union Remission disbursements, according to the company.
According to the DOJ, the first phase of payouts paid out more than $365 million to over 148,000 victims, who all got full compensation for their losses.
More payouts for victims are expected to be authorized by the Justice Department in the coming months.
The second phase of the Western Union Remission was launched in March 2022 to allow victims who did not file petitions during the first phase of distributions to do so, according to the DOJ.
It stated that it is still accepting petitions for remission from anyone affected by the plan.
“The latest distribution of the Western Union Remission Fund compensated thousands more victims harmed by predatory schemes,” said the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri. “Victim assistance is a primary goal of the Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program, and this latest distribution is testament to the impact asset forfeiture can have in compensating and making victims whole.”
“Today’s distribution of US$39.6 million to thousands of victims to compensate them for their losses demonstrates our commitment to hold all responsible parties accountable and to ensure justice for the victims who were financially harmed,” said US Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. We congratulate our law enforcement partners for their dedicated efforts on behalf of the victims.”
“The US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is committed to protecting victims of fraud and will continue to investigate those perpetrating such schemes,” said Postal Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen of the USPIS Philadelphia Division. “With this US$39 million disbursement to 25,000 victims, the total disbursed to over 174,000 victims in the Western Union Remission process now exceeds $404 million.”
“We would like to thank our partners in this extraordinary effort, especially the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section,” he continued.
According to the DOJ, Western Union engaged into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the US in 2017.
According to the DPA, Western Union admitted responsibility for its “criminal conduct, which included violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and aiding and abetting wire fraud,” and agreed to forfeit US$586 million to compensate victims of the international consumer fraud scheme through the remission process.
“Western Union simultaneously resolved a parallel civil investigation with the Federal Trade Commission,” according to the DOJ.
According to the report, fraudsters used numerous scams to target consumers, particularly elders, in this scheme.
According to the DOJ, three specific scams aimed at seniors include the grandparent scam, in which the fraudster poses as the victim’s relative in need of immediate money to avoid personal harm, lottery or sweepstakes scams, in which the fraudster tells the victim that they have won a large cash prize but must pay fees such as taxes to claim the prize, and romance scams, in which the fraudster poses as an online love interest and requests funds for a visit or for a date.
According to the DOJ, the scammers persuaded their victims to wire money using Western Union in each of these cases.
It claimed that certain Western Union agent station owners, operators, or personnel were participating in the schemes.
“Western Union aided and abetted the fraud scheme by failing to suspend or terminate complicit agents and allowing them to continue processing fraud-induced monetary transactions,” the DOJ stated. “Western Union fulfilled its obligations under the DPA, and the court granted the motion to dismiss the information.”
