Western Alliance Bank and Digital Disbursements' Second Annual Report Highlights Explosion of Fraudulent Claim Rates in Class Actions and Mass Torts
While fraudulent claims have always existed in class action and mass tort settlements, the problem has grown exponentially worse over the last two years, according to new exclusive research by Western Alliance Bank and Digital Disbursements. The Second Annual "Digital Payments in Class Actions and Mass Torts" report found more than 80 million settlement claims submitted in 2023 included significant indicia of fraud - an increase of 19,000% since 2021.
Along with the data on fraud, this year's report also found that digital payments continue to be far more effective than paper checks and that the pace of digitization of settlement payments is still accelerating.
As with last year's inaugural report, Digital Disbursements' large market share allows its data to serve as a reasonable proxy for the industry. The data for this year's report comes from 597 class action and mass tort distributions awarded to Digital Disbursements from 24 different settlement administrators between 2019 and 2023, The number of distributions is almost double that of last year's report and represents the acceleration of the active transition away from check-only distributions to settlements that offer a menu of different payment options.
Key Topics Addressed In the Report:
- Evidence of growing fraud in class action and mass tort claims
- Growth in settlements using digital payment methods
- Most popular digital payment methods
- Rankings of courts and law firms with the most significant use of digital payments
About Us
Settlement Services
Western Alliance Settlement Services, a national banking group within Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, specializes in banking for law firms, claims administrators and related businesses managing class action, mass tort and bankruptcy settlements nationwide. Relationship bankers bring clients years of experience and offer outstanding service to support all phases of the settlement process, from escrow to distribution, with a single point of contact. Settlement Services is part of Western Alliance Bancorporation, which has more than $70 billion in assets. Major accolades include being ranked as a top U.S. bank in 2023 by American Banker and Bank Director. With significant national capabilities, the Settlement Services Group delivers the reach, resources and deep industry knowledge that make a difference for customers.
