Consumer bureau takes action against prison financial services provider
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered prison financial services provider JPay to pay more than $2 million in refunds for illegal fees that were charged to more than 170,000 consumers.
The action comes following a CFPB investigation that found that JPay forced prisoners to pay a fee to access their own money on a JPay card the prisoners were forced to use. The company also violated the law when prisoners were required to receive government benefits only on a JPay prepaid card.
The payments come about as a result of a CFPB lawsuit against the company after reports of consumer financial protection laws were made.
The CFPB found that there were just over 178,000 victims of the JPay scheme. Each of these victims will receive a full refund of fees paid to access money on their JPay cards. Payments should begin being sent this week, according to the CFPB.
In addition to refunding the money paid by prisoners to JPay, the company was assessed a $4 million fine. These funds will go into a victim's compensation fund at the CFPB to provide financial relief to other victims of financial scams.
Individuals who believe they may have been impacted in the JPay scheme can access this website to determine their eligibility and to track the status of any payment due.
Consumers expecting payment as a result of this settlement should be looking for mailed checks from Epiq systems, a payment processor for the CFPB.
Want more consumer finance news? Check out my newsletter?
Comments / 6