11,000 Arizonans eligible to receive money from Volkswagen lawsuit
Aug 8, 2018, 5:14 PM | Updated: Aug 9, 2018, 8:14 am
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
PHOENIX — If you owned or leased a Volkswagen, there’s a chance that you could soon receive money from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
The office announced on Wednesday that more than 11,000 people in Arizona were eligible to get settlement money from a lawsuit with the German car maker.
The restitution claims forms were mailed and emailed to those individuals over the last several days.
To be eligible for the money, Arizonans must return their completed forms to the claims administrator within 90 days.
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In May, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office reached a $40 million settlement with Volkswagen over false claims involving the carmakers’ “clean diesel” vehicles.
The state focused its lawsuit on consumer fraud, claiming that the company fraudulently advertised diesel cars to Arizonans as clean vehicles, even though they included a software that the company used to circumvent emissions testing, spokeswoman Katie Conner told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
Arizonans who bought or leased certain Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesel models from 2008 to 2015 will get $10.5 million in direct consumer restitution, up to $1,000 per vehicle.
Half the settlement was a $20 million penalty that went into the state’s general fund, earmarked for education purposes.
The remaining money went to attorneys’ fees and costs and the Attorney General’s Office Consumer Revolving Fund to be used in future consumer enforcement.
Restitution checks were expected to be distributed in November and consumers will have 180 days to cash their checks.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ashley Flood contributed to this report.
