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More than 400,000 Native Americans from numerous tribal groups received an early Christmas present last week when the federal government began mailing them $1,000 checks under the landmark $3.4 billion Cobell v. Salazar class action lawsuit settlement.
The Cobell v. Salazar settlement was one of the largest class actions ever filed against the United States, and accused the government of mismanaging money owed to Native Americans under trust funds. The alleged mismanagement dated as far back as the 1880s.
The Indian trust class action settlement was originally settled in December 2009 and later approved by Congress in November 2010. An appeal was filed and the case was held up in court for nearly two years. In May 2012, an appeals court rejected the appeal and upheld the $3.4 billion Indian trust settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate.
On December 12, 2012, the court filed an order directing the Claims Administrator to commence distribution of payments to Class Members no later than December 24, 2012. However, there are thousands of eligible Class Members that have still not filed claims.
According to the Claims Administrator, nearly 40,000 Historical Accounting Class Members are shown as “whereabouts unknown,” and another 10,000 have no contact information in the records furnished by Interior. If you are a member of the Historical Accounting Class and are not currently receiving statements on your IIM account from the government, then you need to provide contact information to the Claims Administrator by calling 1-800-961-6109 or entering the information at www.IndianTrust.com.
In addition, the court has entered a final deadline for submission of claims for the Indian trust class action lawsuit settlement. Any claim forms must be postmarked by March 1, 2013. Claim Forms and more information on the Cobell v. Salazar Indian Trust Class Action Lawsuit Settlement can be found online at www.IndianTrust.com.
UPDATE 1: Second Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Checks Expected Early 2014.
UPDATE 2: More than 30,000 Class Members of the Cobell v. Salazar Indian trust class action settlement are still awaiting payments. Class Counsel explains why.
UPDATE 3: According to the Settlement Administrator, the final round of payments from the Indian Trust settlement could be made in early Fall 2014.
UPDATE 4: A federal judge approved the distribution of payments to more than 15,000 Class Members whose records were missing from the Department of Interior. The first checks were mailed Sept. 15, 2014. Learn more.
UPDATE 5: If you were an Indian Trust beneficiary, you may be entitled to payment from a $3.4 billion class action settlement. More than 30,000 individuals could qualify for benefits from the Indian Trust settlement. Update your contact information and file a claim by Nov. 27, 2017 to get cash from this settlement.
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80 thoughts onCobell v. Salazar Indian Trust Settlement Checks Mailed!
I have not received my payment and don’t know where to look or who to ask. I telephoned but was on hold almost two hours without my concerns being addressed. Where did my payment go if I have not received it yet?
My name was not spelled right on my 1st e-mail to you so I corrected it.
My cousins have received their checks. I have not got mine nor has the rest of my family. Is there someone we can call to find out what has happened to them?
As of 12-29-12 I have not recieved my payment but my brothers and sister have, is there something I should do?
I was wondering if they received my CLAIM FORM? Send it the same time that I send my aunt’s Joyce L. Hayes. She got her check but, I haven’t received mine as of yet. I have an extra Claim Form if you need me to resend another one. Been trying to call with no avail. If you can ever so kindly get back with me to let me know what I have to do.
Thank You Very Much.
Did nt receive my check. Wen will I find out where my check is at?
i got my ck. but 1 sister shirley huff and 1brother olaf holman and all 5 sons and daughers didnt get any what can i do?
I also would like to know where my payment went if i have not received it yet?!
I am wondering about that too ! I never received mine either !!
How do we know if, when and where a payment went to if we haven’t received anything yet?
I just seen on this page is it true that the cobell/salazar payments where already mailed out and I was wondering where I need to call or look up on an website to find out where my check was mailed to because I havent received my check yet because I updated my information by calling the 1-800-961-6109 number already..
thank you
maryfrances tsotaddle
You and so many others have never received the first payments. Unfortunately Garden City Group (Claims Administrator) has a very questionable reputation.
In a letter dated 01/15/2013 from Kevin Washburn Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs DOI addressed to all Tribal Leaders the following is quoted “In the Cobell settlement agreement only the Claims Administrator (Garden City Group) can address issues regarding payments”….
The high volume of complaints about Garden City Group, not only from us (Native Americans) but from past claimants of other class action lawsuits make this situation a repeat of why the Cobell lawsuit was implemented in the first place. Garden City Group with their high turn over of employees and there past reputation of committing credit card fraud leads be to believe this is another entity that is going to take advantage of us….
This article was dated Dec 2012 regarding the first round of settlement checks, yes they were mailed and even though your current address is on file with the gcg they still mailed my check to a random previous address, which actually I would have been able to get it. But the mail carrier decided not to put in the box because she didn’t think I still lived there…. it was my sister’s house. Just can’t win