United States District Judge Thomas B. Russell of Paducah, Kentucky recently gave preliminary approval to a settlement between Countrywide Financial Corp (owned by Bank of America) and millions of Countrywide customers whose financial information was exposed in a breach of the company’s security. The victims of identity theft (approximately 17 million people) will get free credit monitoring; the settlement also entitles each identity theft victim up to $50,000 in reimbursement from the company if something of value was lost.
The lawsuits, which were granted class action status, stem from the arrest of a former senior analyst at Countrywide and an accomplice. The analyst allegedly used a flash drive to download the information of about 20,000 customers each week over the course of two years. The information was then sold to the accomplice. The accomplice has since pleaded guilty to 10 counts of fraud, but the former analyst has pleaded not guilty; his trial is set for January 2010.
A spokeswoman of Bank of America stated that the settlement was in the bank’s best interest to avoid future, additional legal expenses.
If your identity has been “stolen” by having your financial information exposed to be used by others for profit, you may have a valid identity theft claim on your hands. Please contact an experienced identity theft attorney today to schedule a confidential, no-cost consultation.
