The checks are in the mail to people in our area.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service on Aug. 19 sent reimbursement checks to more than 3,400 people who were victimized by MoneyGram International. The firm admitted to aiding and abetting wire fraud through schemes through corrupt MGI agents.Here's how much money was remitted to folks in our area, according to Nick Alicea, the Harrisburg-based U.S. Postal Inspector team leader.Carbon County: Lehighton, two people, one received a check for $967.15 and the other for $1,575.63.Monroe County: Stroudsburg, $1,269; East Stroudsburg, $9,008; Kresgeville, $7,714; Milford, $9,300; Mount Bethel, $5,868; Mount Pocono, $1,704;Lehigh County: Emmaus, $3,925; Whitehall, $4,162; Allentown, two people, one received a check for $4,574 and the other for $2,728;Northampton County: Northampton, $9,361; Bethlehem, two people received checks, one for $2,741.13 and the other for $2,800; Easton, $1,117.41.Schuylkill County: Hegins, $9,141; Mahanoy City, $2,547; Joliette, $1,307; Tamaqua, $4,624.The schemes included "phishing" and were perpetrated between Jan. 1, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2009. The victims, numbering in the tens of thousands, according to Gilardi, the law firm handling the case, were reached by U.S. mail, telephone, interstate courier or the Internet, and conned into sending money to the corrupt agents.The ruses used by the agents included promises of large cash prizes, sales of high-ticket items for absurdly low prices, get-rich-quick employment schemes and claims of being a relative in desperate need of money.MoneyGram also failed to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.On Nov. 9, 2012, MGI agreed to forfeit $100 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.People who wired money using MoneyGram from the United States or Canada to someone in the United States or Canada in that time frame and believe they were victimized by the fraud were required to submit their information by Nov. 15, 2013.If you submitted information and want to know if you'll receive a check, call 877-282-2610, send an email message to

moneygramremission@classactmail.com.Or people can write to United States v. MoneyGram International at P.O. Box 80806, Petaluma, California, 94975-8061.