The FTC, through its claims administrator, mailed more than 400,000 checks on Friday, June 12, 2009, to consumers identified as victims of an illegal credit card billing scam operated by J.K. Publications and other defendants.

The defendants made unauthorized charges on consumers’ credit and debit cards for purported Internet services. Information about the case can be found here: www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/9823616.shtm.

The redress checks are the result of a lawsuit the FTC filed in 1999. The defendants’ records obtained during litigation contained only credit and debit card numbers. Under instructions from the court, Credit Reporting Agencies and banks provided the FTC with the names and addresses associated with the card numbers as of the date of the charges. The FTC’s claims administrator mailed checks to those consumers last week.

Most of the illegal billing dates back to 1998. Substantial time passed between the court’s judgment and the issuance of these checks because the defendants moved millions of dollars of their ill-gotten funds offshore, and it took significant time and effort to locate and repatriate the fraudulently obtained money.

These consumer redress checks can be cashed directly by the recipients of the checks. The FTC never requires the payment of money up-front, or the provision of additional information, before consumers cash redress checks issued to them.

Back story: Washington, D.C. (AHN) – The Federal Trade Commission has sent out checks to more than 400,000 persons to reimburse them for unauthorized charges to debit and credit cards that took place more than 10 years ago.

The checks are the result of a lawsuit filed by the FTC in 1999 against eight businesses and three persons that allegedly placed unauthorized charges for Internet entertainment services on the victims’ credit and debit cards. Those sued were Kenneth H. Taves, Teresa Callei Taves, Gary Mittman, all of California, and their companies, J. K. Publications, Inc., MJD Service Corp., and Net Options, Inc.

In some cases, according to the government, the victims did not even have a computer.

Many of the victims had to cancel their cards to stop the charges, according to an earlier FTC statement.

Most of the illegal billing occurred in 1998.

An FTC statement issued Thursday acknowledged that “substantial time” had passed since the case was settled because the defendants had moved millions of dollars into offshore bank accounts and “it took significant time and effort” to locate the money.