SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Veterans whose tax refunds and benefits were improperly withheld by the U.S. government will be repaid $7.4 million, a San Francisco judge ruled.
The judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement in a class-action case that challenged the debt-collection practices of federal agencies, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Under the accord, the government will repay 6,715 veterans up to $10,000 each.
Filed in 2007, the case was brought on behalf of disabled Army veteran Julius Briggs, who spent $1,857 using his military credit card.
Briggs stopped receiving billing statements and lost track of his credit card debt after he left the service.
More than 10 years later, the U.S. Treasury withheld $2,373 from his income tax refunds for the delinquent debt.
A spokesman for the Justice Department, which handled the case, declined to comment on Thursday's settlement.
