Cases & Investigations
Visa U.S.A, Inc., InComm Financial Services, Inc., Pathward, N.A.

Wolf Popper LLP serves as counsel for Plaintiff and the Putative Class of Visa Vanilla Gift Card purchasers whose cards were drained of funds before they had an opportunity to use the cards.  Plaintiff filed suit in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York against Visa, U.S.A., Inc., InComm Financial Services, Inc., and Pathward, N.A. (together, “Defendants”), alleging violations of the New York Consumer Protection Act (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §349).  Defendants failed to disclose to Plaintiff and members of the Class that Visa Vanilla Gift Cards are sold in packaging that permits thieves to easily gain access to the cards before they are purchased to steal the card’s account numbers.  Once the thieves have recorded the account numbers, they reseal the card’s packaging and return the cards to the retail stores without consumers or the retailers noticing.  Finally, the thieves continuously monitor the gift cards’ balances on www.vanillagift.com and once they have been loaded with funds by unwitting consumers, the thieves immediately drain the cards of funds through their own purchases. 
 
Plaintiff purchased eight $500 Visa Vanilla Gift Cards as Christmas presents for his employees.  Plaintiff believed that because the cards and their packaging prominently displayed the “VISA” logo, his funds would be secure.  Unbeknownst to Plaintiff, however, the account numbers of certain of the cards had been stolen by thieves.  By the time he gifted the cards to his employees, the thieves had drained the cards of their funds.  Plaintiff contacted Visa U.S.A., Inc. and Pathward, N.A., the bank that issued one or more of the cards Plaintiff purchased, to report the theft.  Rather than standing behind their gift cards and reimbursing Plaintiff for his losses, Defendants simply ignored his complaint. 
 
Schuman filed a Class Action Complaint in the Southern District of New York against Defendants on January 30, 2024.  This lawsuit demands that Defendants adopt better practices to keep consumers’ funds secure and compensate consumers who have already been harmed for their financial losses.
 
Consumers who were victimized by Defendants’ failure to prevent fraud should contact Patricia Avery (212-451-9619, pavery@wolfpopper.com), Philip Black (212-451-9628, pblack@wolfpopper.com), or Timothy Brennan (212-451-9616, tbrennan@wolfpopper.com). 

- Phone: Patricia Avery – (212) 451-9619
- Phone: Philip Black – (212) 451-9628
- Phone: Timothy Brennan – (212) 451-9616
- Email: Outreach@wolfpopper.com