Update:
- A federal judge in Illinois partially dismissed claims from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that Walmart turned a blind eye to more than $200 million in fraudulent money transfers.ย
- U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah, while tossing claims under the agencyโs Telemarketing Sales Rule, ruled the FTC failed to sufficiently prove Walmart was aware fraudsters used its money-transferring services to break the law.ย
- Judge Shah acknowledged Walmart had, at times, encouraged its workers to process transactions that were suspected to be fraudulent but determined that more specific examples needed to be shown.
- The FTC will still be able to pursue claims against Walmart under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
- The agency argues Walmart violated the section by allegedly failing to warn its customers about the innate risks that come with wire transfers and not providing info about what types of scams can occur.
Walmart money transfer services fraud lawsuit overview:ย
- Who: The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against Walmart Inc.ย
- Why: The FTC claims Walmart has failed to take steps to prevent its money transfer service from being taken advantage of and used by fraudsters.ย
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.ย
(June 30, 2022)
The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against Walmart for allegedly failing to adopt policies and practices which would help detect and prevent money transfer services fraud on its service.ย
The FTC claims Walmart is โwell awareโ that its money transfer service is used by fraudsters to โinduce peopleโ into sending money to โdomestic and international fraud rings.โย
Walmartโs money transfer service was used to facilitate at least $197 million worth of fraud between January 2013 and December 2018, the Walmart lawsuit alleges.ย
โIn some cases, Walmartโs practices have even made it easier for fraudsters to collect fraud-induced money transfers at a Walmart store,โ the agency said in its Walmart lawsuit.ย
The FTC argues that Walmart has for years maintained a policy and practice not to deny payouts to individuals at its store that it suspects are fraudsters.ย
Instead, the FTC claims Walmartโs policy is simply to have the transactions completed by a company employee.ย
FTC claims Walmart has failed to end cash-to-cash money transfers
The FTC also argues that Walmart declined to take the โappropriate stepsโ to eliminate cash-to-cash money transfers at its locations after the practice became illegal in June 2016.ย
โAs a result of Walmartโs failure to take appropriate steps to mitigate the problem, consumers have lost substantial sums to frauds through money transfers effected at Walmart,โ the FTC says.ย
Financial services offered by Walmart include money transfers, check cashing, bill payment, money orders, gift cards, and reloadable debit cards, among other things, according to the Walmart lawsuit.ย
Walmartโs financial services department โgenerates significant retail salesโ for the company on account of its role in โdriving customer trafficโ to the companyโs physical locations, according to the FTC.ย
The FTC claims Walmartโs alleged inaction puts it in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Telemarketing Act. It is seeking permanent injunctive relief along with monetary civil penalties.ย
Walmart has initiated several recalls and faced a number of class action lawsuits in recent months, including an April complaint filed by a consumer alleging the company falsely markets Lidocaine patches as being stronger and longer lasting than they truly are.ย
Have you been the victim of fraud on Walmartโs money transfer service? Let us know in the comments!ย
The FTC is represented in house by Karen D. Dodge, Purba Mukerjee and Matthew G. Schiltz.ย ย
The Walmart money transfer services fraud lawsuit is Federal Trade Commission v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-03372, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Donโt Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
146 thoughts onWalmart class action over fraudulent money transfers gets partial dismissal
Please add me
Add me please
Please add me
Please add me, I too was a victim of fraud with wiring $$ at Walmart
Add Me please
frudsters tried to et me to make a forign transfer
Add me to this class action
Please add me. I almost lost my place to live after using this service
add me, please
I was scammed out of $2500 at Walmart in 2 separate transactions please add me to this lawsuit.