The refund program stems from the FTC’s 2022 lawsuit and 2024 settlements, which permanently banned key operators from credit-repair and multi-level marketing activity and required turnover of cash and other assets for consumer redress. In the FTC’s words, the broader operation billed more than $213 million from consumers.

Checks must be cashed within 90 days, and the FTC says it will never require consumers to pay money or provide account information to receive a refund. People with questions can review the agency’s refund information and FAQ or contact the administrator listed by the FTC.

The payout is meaningful, but it also shows the limits of cleanup after the fact: spread across more than 443,000 recipients, the average check works out to only about $24.60. That makes this less a story about “free money” than a warning about the kinds of credit-repair pitches consumers should avoid in the first place—especially any company charging upfront for promised deletions or leaning on recruitment-style income claims. For readers focused on improving credit score the safer path is still the boring one: dispute inaccurate information, pay on time, lower utilization, and stay skeptical of anyone promising a fast fix.