Did you send money via Western Union to a scammer claiming to be a relative in trouble? Or for a supposed job?  Or because you “won” a prize?

If you did, there may be some compensation in your future.

As the result of an action announced Thursday, Jan. 19, some scam victims may be able to receive compensation for monies they sent using Western Union between 2004 and 2012.

The Federal Trade Commission announcement reports that Western Union has agreed to a payment of $586 million and has admitted that it did not maintain effective anti-money laundering programs. It also admits to abetting and aiding wire fraud. The company will also implement anti-fraud programs which will be monitored for the next three years.

The $586 million “provides more than a half billion dollars for refunds to consumers who were harmed by the company’s unlawful behavior,” said Edith Ramirez of the FTC.

The investigation found some Western Union agents who were involved in “mass marketing schemes” and who avoided currency reporting laws by keeping their transactions below the $10,000 minimum set under the Bank Security Act (BSA).

The company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and admitted that it had violated the BSA and other laws when its agents processed millions of dollars in transactions involving fraud.

The BSA mandates the reporting of any currency transactions greater than $10,000. Some Western Union agents filed multiple transactions to avoid the mandated reports.

According to the investigation, “Fraudsters contacted victims in the U.S. and falsely posed as family members in need or promised prizes or job opportunities. The fraudsters directed the victims to send money through Western Union to help their relative or claim their prize. Various Western Union agents were complicit in these fraud schemes, often processing the fraud payments for the fraudsters in return for a cut of the fraud proceeds.”

In a statement appearing on its website, Western Union commented: “We share the government’s goal of protecting consumers and the integrity of our global money transfer network, and we worked hard to resolve these matters with the government.”

People who believe they were victims of the fraud scheme between 2004 and 2012 may visit the Department of Justice’s victim website at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-afmls/remission  for instructions on how to request compensation through the Victim Asset Recovery Program. The phone number for the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section in Washington D.C. is (202) 514-1263.

In addition to the FTC, other federal agencies were involved in the investigation including the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, the IRS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of Homeland Security, the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.