Walmart’s practice of “turning a blind eye to fraud had grave consequences for consumers,” according to the complaint.
The Federal Trade Commission is suing Walmart, accusing the national retailer of allowing its money transfer services to be used by fraudsters that reportedly took hundreds of millions of dollars from consumers.
In its lawsuit, the FTC alleges the Bentonville-based retailer “turned a blind eye while scammers took advantage of its failure to properly secure the money transfer services offered at Walmart stores” for years. The complaint adds Walmart “did not properly train its employees, failed to warn customers, and used procedures that allowed fraudsters to cash out at its stores.”
The FTC says it is asking the court to order Walmart to return money to consumers and to impose civil penalties for the company’s violations.
“While scammers used its money transfer services to make off with cash, Walmart looked the other way and pocketed millions in fees,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a Tuesday release. “Consumers have lost hundreds of millions, and the Commission is holding Walmart accountable for letting fraudsters fleece its customers.”
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