People swept up in Fairmont Federal Credit Union’s 2023 data breach can claim up to $7,500 for documented losses or take a cash payment of up to $150, and every claim must be in by Friday, December 18. The $1,783,857.64 settlement is open to anyone in the United States whose private information was potentially affected, not just account holders. Kroll Settlement Administration is handling the claims.
A class wider than the credit union’s own customers
The incident ran from September 30 to October 18, 2023, according to the official settlement website, and the credit union disclosed it on or about April 30, 2025. The case, Butler v. Fairmont Federal Credit Union, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
The class is defined as all individuals in the United States whose private information was potentially impacted. ClaimDepot, which tracks settlements, puts the number at about 187,038 people and says the group includes current and former customers and people who transacted with the credit union.
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The exposed data was broad. ClaimDepot lists names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver’s license or state ID numbers, and financial, insurance and medical information. The settlement site says personally identifiable information and protected health information were accessed.
That mix matters for older households. A Social Security number and a date of birth do not expire, so a breach from 2023 can still produce a fraudulent account or tax return in 2027. The settlement is built around that long tail, with losses counted all the way through the claim deadline.
Three ways to be paid, and one that never expires
Out-of-pocket losses are reimbursed up to $7,500 per person. ClaimDepot reports that the claim needs third-party paperwork such as receipts, invoices, statements or phone bills, and that handwritten receipts do not count. Losses must fall between September 30, 2023 and December 18, 2026.
Time is a separate line. The site offers reimbursement for up to four hours spent sorting out problems, at $35 an hour, which tops out at $140. Claimants write a short description of what the time was spent on and how it connects to the breach.
The third route is the alternative cash payment of up to $150, listed on the site as subject to a pro rata adjustment. ClaimDepot’s summary shows no proof requirement for it. Anyone claiming both losses and the maximum time can collect up to $7,640.
Credit monitoring sits apart from the cash. The site lists three years of credit monitoring and identity restoration, and ClaimDepot adds $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance. It is available even to people who already accepted the free monitoring the credit union offered after the breach.
Why the $150 may shrink
A fund of $1,783,857.64 sounds large until it is divided across 187,038 people. The money also pays for more than claims. ClaimDepot reports that attorneys’ fees of up to $594,599 plus costs, service awards for the named plaintiffs and the administrator’s bills all come out of the same pot.
That is why the site words the cash option as up to $150, subject to a pro rata adjustment. If more valid claims arrive than the fund can cover at full value, each payment is cut by the same percentage. Documented losses are different in kind, but the same fund stands behind them.
Payments do not go out yet. They follow final court approval and the resolution of any appeals, according to ClaimDepot’s summary of the terms. Online filers can pick an electronic payment or a check, and mail-in filers receive a check at the address they give.
The December 18 pile-up
December 18 does the work of three deadlines at once. It is the last day to file a claim, the last day to ask to be left out of the class, and the last day to send the court an objection. Opt-out and objection letters must be postmarked by then.
Filing online takes the claim form and the class member ID printed on the notice. A paper form can be printed from the site and mailed to Kroll at P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391, postmarked by the same date, according to ClaimDepot’s rundown of the process.
Court approval comes after the deadline passes. The final approval hearing is set for Monday, February 8, 2027, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Opting out removes a person from the class and from any payment out of this fund, which leaves the claim form as the only route to money for most affected people.
The notice itself is the thing to find first, because the member ID in it unlocks the online form. A recipient who threw the letter out can still reach the administrator through the site’s contact form. The harder question is whether any 2023-era fraud has already left a paper trail worth itemizing.
Still holding the Fairmont letter from 2023?
Anyone who sets the Fairmont notice aside risks missing the single December 18 date that covers the claim, the opt-out and the objection, and an unfiled claim pays nothing from the $1,783,857.64 fund. Documented losses also need third-party paperwork that is easiest to gather before the deadline, not on it.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice, a step-by-step filing walkthrough and a claim log and payment tracker. Its Open Settlements Supplement and large-print quick-start sheet keep a notice like Fairmont’s dates and member ID in one place.
More Financial Reading
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- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- The New $6,000 Senior Deduction and 14 More Tax Moves for Retirees
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
