DOJ opens third and final phase of Western Union fraud victim compensation
The Justice Department has reopened its petition process for people defrauded through Western Union money transfers. The DOJ says Phase Three provides $3.4 million in remission to 1,294 victims.
The US Department of Justice announced on October 7, 2026 a third phase of its compensation process for victims of fraud schemes that used Western Union money transfers. The process is called remission: the return of forfeited funds to crime victims.
The process stems from 2017, when Western Union entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the DOJ and agreed to forfeit $586 million. According to the DOJ, Western Union acknowledged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and aiding and abetting wire fraud. The DOJ says it has previously distributed over $436.9 million to more than 180,000 victims.
Phase Three reopens the petition process. The DOJ says this phase provides an additional $3.4 million in remission to 1,294 victims. The reopened process is for fraud victims who did not file a petition before and who sent a money transfer through Western Union between January 1, 2004 and March 9, 2020. The deadline to file is December 31. Verita Global LLC (formerly known as Gilardi & Co. LLC) is the remission administrator, and the program website is www.westernunionremissionphase3.com.
The DOJ warns that neither the remission administrator nor the DOJ will ask for any payment to take part. The Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section oversees the remission process.
Why it matters to AML professionals
Money transfer services can be used by fraudsters to collect funds from victims, and weak controls at a payment provider can expose it to criminal liability. AML professionals at money services businesses should monitor for patterns that suggest customers are sending money under a scammer's direction. Remission programs also attract impostors, so customer-facing teams should know that legitimate programs do not charge victims to participate.
Red flags in this case
- A customer sends repeated transfers to unrelated recipients after being told they won a prize or owe a fee
- Multiple senders in different locations transfer funds to the same receiver over a short period
- A customer appears to follow instructions from someone else while sending a transfer
- A person claiming to represent a compensation program asks a victim to pay a fee to receive funds
Sources
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