Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced that Pennsylvania consumers will begin receiving account credits or checks this week as part of a partial settlement of a 2012 e-book price-fixing lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorneys General from 33 states.

The lawsuit was brought against Apple Inc. and five of the six largest e-book publishers in the country: Hachette Book Group Inc.; HarperCollins Publishers LLC; Simon & Schuster Inc.; Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC (doing business as Macmillan); and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. These e-book publishers settled the claims against them for a total nationwide payment of $166 million. Pennsylvania's share of the settlement is $6.7 million.Consumers will receive an account credit or check, which will be based on the number of eligible e-books purchased during the claims period (April 1, 2010, to May 21, 2012). Whether a consumer receives an account credit or a check depends on the retailer from which the e-book was purchased. In certain circumstances it will be based on whether a claim was properly filed or whether a consumer specifically requested a check.Eligible consumers should review their email for communications from their e-book retailer, or from the settlement administrator regarding account credits or checks. For more information on the settlements, visit

www.ebookagsettlements.com.