TJX Agrees to $525,000 Settlement with Banks

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Massachusetts-based retailer TJX says it has agreed to pay $525,000 to settle a putative class action suit from several banks related to the massive security breach that resulted in the theft of more than 45 million credit and debit card numbers.

The money will pay back the settling banks for some of their expenses. The banks are: AmeriFirst Bank, HarborOne Credit Union, SELCO Community Credit Union and Trustco Bank. The remaining institutions that sought to join the suit agreed to drop all claims. TJX denied all wrongdoing. The money paid by TJX comes from a reserve set aside in 2007 for breach-related costs.

TJX has paid out large settlement amounts after revealing in January 2007 that hackers had stolen more than 45 million credit and debit card numbers from its computer systems.

Earlier in June the retailer agreed to pay around $9.75 million as part of a settlement with a group of 41 state attorneys general. It has also reached a $40.9 million settlement with Visa and a $24 million deal with MasterCard over the breach.

The accused computer hacker Albert Gonzalez, the mastermind behind the TJX breach, agreed to plead guilty in August to the breach along with attacks on several other retailers.