California drivers who submitted a claim to get their cut of a $50-million settlement over price gouging at the gas pump are starting to see the payments land in their bank accounts.
Starting in late April, more than a million Californians started receiving payments of $21.65, according to the attorney general’s office.
The money is arriving by check, direct deposit or via Venmo, depending on what the claimant chose as their preference.
The payments are coming from a settlement between the state of California and three gasoline trading firms who allegedly worked together to manipulate gas prices nine years ago, violating California antitrust laws, according to the office of Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta.
The companies took advantage of a market disruption following an explosion in February 2015 at an Exxon Mobile refinery in Torrance “to engage in a scheme to drive up gas prices for their own profit,” officials said. As a result, California consumers paid more for their gas.
In July, the trading firms settled with the state of California and as part of the settlement, Vitol, SK Energy Americas and South Korea’s SK Trading International have agreed to pay $50 million into two settlement funds. Of the total, $37.5 million would be distributed to consumers as compensation for violations of the Cartwright Act.
The settlement did not include an admission of fault from the trading companies.
