The FTC claims that Walmart turned a blind eye while criminals used its money transfer services to scam consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Nevertheless, Walmart has continued processing fraud-induced money transfers at its stores - funding telemarketing and other scams - without adopting policies and practices that effectively detect and prevent these transfers," the complaint said.Walmartthat the FTC was "narrowly divided" and that it was initiating a "factually flawed and legally baseless" lawsuit.
In June, lawyers representing Walmart also filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information from the FTC.
Walmart said the FTC’s authority was now being expanded in an "unprecedented" way, and added that the fraud happening was "already attributed to another company while that company was under the federal government’s direct supervision." Walmart did not name the other company. The FTC said it was requesting a court to order Walmart to returnOn June 1, 2022, the FTC voted 3-2 in favor of filing a complaint in federal court against Walmart.
"Walmart will defend the company’s robust anti-fraud efforts that have helped protect countless consumers, all while Walmart has driven down prices and saved consumers an estimated $6 billion in money transfer fees," it said.