CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - USA Discounter Ltd. agreed to a settlement with Illinois and 49 other states for allegations of misleading U.S. service members into expensive financing for overpriced consumer goods, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently announced.
Madigan said $1.3 million in restitution will be distributed to Illinois consumers through financing credits and loan wipe-outs. The restitution will benefit more than 500 active Illinois service members and veterans.
“This company exploited military service members with their predatory pricing and credit scheme,” the attorney general said. “This settlement will pay back money to the members of our military who shouldn’t have had to pay these exorbitant amounts in the first place.”
According to the original complaint filed by Madigan and the other 49 attorneys general, USA Discounters sold overpriced household gifts at high interest rates to military members. The company allegedly specifically targeted the military by using the military allotment system, which automatically distributes money from an active-duty service member’s pay under certain conditions.
USA Discounters, to settle the case, will distribute more than $95.9 million nationally in restitution. USA Discounters will send notice via email or mail to allegedly affected customers.