FTC Returns $2 Million to Payday Loan Applicants Tricked into Buying Prepaid Debit Cards

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that it is mailing more than 110,000 refund checks to consumers defrauded by an online operation that tricked payday loan applicants into paying for an unrelated debit card.

The FTC alleged that payday loan marketers Matthew Patterson, Mark Benning, Jason Strober, and Swish Marketing, Inc., worked with debit card marketers Jerry Klein, Joshua Finer, and VirtualWorks, LLC, to design the deceptive payday loan application form that triggered a charge of up to $54.95 for a prepaid debit card with a zero balance.

Approximately $1.9 million is being returned to consumers; the average payment will be between $10 and $15. Consumers who receive the checks from the FTC’s redress administrator should cash them within 60 days of the date they were issued. The FTC never requires consumers to pay money or provide information before redress checks can be cashed.

Customers with questions should call the redress administrator, Epiq Systems at 1-877-853-3394 or visit the FTC’s refund website.