Harrisburg — Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that Pennsylvania consumers who were deceived into sending payments to scam artists through Western Union’s wire transfer service can now seek restitution from a fund set up to help victims across the Commonwealth and the country.
The compensation is the result of a January settlement with Western Union, which required the creation of a national $586 million fund administered by the Department of Justice’s Victim Asset Recovery Program, along with anti-fraud measures to protect consumers from being victimized by wire transfer scams in the future.
Pennsylvanians who were victimized should file for restitution through the Commonwealth’s estimated $21.5 million portion of the settlement.
“We hear all the time from folks who have lost money through wire transfer scams,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “One elderly gentlemen from central Pennsylvania lost over $200,000, and he’s not alone. This settlement will directly help Pennsylvanians who were harmed, and I’m calling on people to file for restitution now.”
Here is the story of how one central Pennsylvania senior citizen and his wife were scammed out of more than $200,000 in a money gram scam that happened through Western Union: Click here for video.
Pennsylvanians who already filed complaints against Western Union will receive claim forms in the mail from settlement fund administrators over the next several weeks. The forms will contain instructions explaining how consumers should file a claim to receive restitution. Individuals are eligible if they were a victim of a fraud-induced transfer using Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017.
For more information about the claims process, go to www.attorneygeneral.gov. Pennsylvanians who haven’t filed a complaint should visit www.westernunionremission.com or call 1-844-319-2124 to determine if they are eligible for restitution. All completed claims forms must be mailed back to the settlement administrator by February 12, 2018.
In addition to Pennsylvania, 48 other states and the District of Columbia participated in the settlement.
“If you believe you’ve been scammed by any business or individual, we want to hear from you,” Attorney General Shapiro said. “Call my Bureau of Consumer Protection at 800-441-2555 or email us at [email protected]. We’ll enforce state law and protect Pennsylvanians from scams.”