Wells Fargo $33 million free-trial scam settlement
$33 million global settlement of two consolidated lawsuits: a consumer class action and a suit by the court-appointed receiver for the Triangle and Apex companies. source
McNamara v. Wells Fargo & Co. 路 3:21-cv-01245-TWR-DDL 路 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California 路 Todd W. Robinson
Where it stands
The court granted final approval on March 26, 2026, and the administrator's site, last updated March 30, 2026, says benefits will be paid once the settlement is final but gives no payment date. Official update, Mar 30, 2026
Who qualifies
- Everyone enrolled in recurring billing by any of the Tarr, Triangle or Apex companies between January 1, 2009 and November 4, 2025. source
- People who already received an FTC refund in the FTC's Triangle or Apex cases did not need a claim form for those charges; they are paid through the FTC's existing refund programs. source
- People who never got an FTC refund, or who were billed by a Tarr company, had to file a claim form by March 4, 2026 to be paid. source
- Excluded: Wells Fargo and its present and former officers and directors. source
What each group gets
Key dates
- Jan 5, 2024 Receiver files first amended complaint against Wells Fargo source
- Jun 25, 2025 Settlement agreement signed source
- Nov 4, 2025 Preliminary approval; end of the class period source
- Mar 4, 2026 Claim form deadline source
- Mar 5, 2026 Opt-out and objection deadline source
- Mar 26, 2026 Final approval hearing; final approval granted the same day source
What the case was about
In June 2018 the FTC sued Triangle Media Corporation, and in November 2018 it obtained a court order halting a similar operation run by Apex Capital Group. Both sold online "risk-free" trials of personal care products and dietary supplements for "just the cost of shipping and handling." The FTC alleged that customers were then charged the full price, up to $98.71 in Triangle's case, and enrolled without consent in monthly plans that were hard to cancel. It alleged that Apex used dozens of shell companies and straw owners in the US and UK to open merchant accounts, a practice it called credit card laundering.
A court-appointed receiver took over the Triangle and Apex companies and turned to the bank. The receiver's lawsuit alleges that the operators paid people for the use of their names to set up about 100 shell companies and that Wells Fargo opened more than 150 bank accounts in those companies' names. Those accounts, the complaint says, were a prerequisite for the card-processing accounts the schemes needed, and it alleges the schemes took in more than $200 million from consumers. A consumer class action added a third group, the Tarr companies. Wells Fargo denies all claims and any wrongdoing.
The two cases settled together for $33 million. The administrator emailed 1,298,179 notices to 1,282,076 potential class members, of which 1,030,382 were delivered, and ran about 63.3 million digital ad impressions. No class member objected and two asked to be excluded. Judge Todd W. Robinson granted final approval on March 26, 2026 and awarded class counsel 33% of the fund. The FTC had already returned money from its own cases: more than $8.7 million to 187,425 Triangle customers in June 2020 and more than $2.8 million to 153,940 Apex customers in September 2024.
This is one of several Wells Fargo settlements. In February 2020 the bank agreed to pay $3 billion to the Justice Department and the SEC over sales practices in which, according to the SEC's order, it opened millions of accounts that were unused, unneeded or unauthorized between 2002 and 2016; the SEC's $500 million share was for investors. In December 2022 the CFPB ordered Wells Fargo to pay $3.7 billion, including more than $2 billion in redress, over auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts. The bank said that consent order terminated in January 2025.
The company's full record: Wells Fargo file.
Questions people ask
How much is the Wells Fargo settlement per person?
It depends on the claim. Claimants with documentation get a pro rata share based on their documented losses, and claimants without documentation get a flat payment of up to $20, which may be reduced. source
When will I get my Wells Fargo settlement payment?
The administrator says benefits will be paid after the settlement is approved by the court and becomes final, and asks claimants to check its site for updates. As of the site's last update on March 30, 2026, no payment date had been posted. source
Can I still file a claim in the Wells Fargo free-trial settlement?
No. Claim forms had to be submitted online or postmarked by March 4, 2026. source
Is this the $3.7 billion Wells Fargo CFPB settlement?
No. The December 2022 CFPB order required Wells Fargo itself to pay more than $2 billion in redress to affected customers across more than 16 million accounts, with no claim process described. source
What is the Wells Fargo CARES Act settlement?
It is a separate class action in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, run through CaresActLitigation.com. The court approved it on June 10, 2026, and the administrator said it would mail each class member a check for their pro rata share by the end of August 2026. source
Is there a Wells Fargo shareholder settlement?
Yes. An $85 million securities settlement covers people who bought Wells Fargo common stock between February 24, 2021 and June 9, 2022; claims were due by April 14, 2026, and payments come only after approval and the end of claims processing. source
Status history
- Jun 25, 2025 Wells Fargo, the receiver and the consumer plaintiffs sign the $33 million settlement. source
- Nov 4, 2025 The court grants preliminary approval and orders notice to the class. source
- Mar 4, 2026 The claim period closes. source
- Mar 26, 2026 The court grants final approval of the settlement and the plan of allocation, with no objections filed. source
- Mar 30, 2026 Last update to the administrator's site; no payment date is posted. source