Prison Cash Transfer Firm Hit by CFPB Over Blocked Accounts (1)

A company providing money transfer services in prisons will pay a total of $3 million for illegally blocking some incarcerated people’s accounts and draining funds from others, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

Global Tel Link Corp., which typically is the only financial services provider operating in prisons, abused its monopoly power by putting in place policies that harmed incarcerated people and their families when they didn’t have a choice in providers, according to the CFPB’s Thursday consent order.

The company, through its subsidiaries, operates trust and commissary accounts for incarcerated people to purchase food and other supplies, as ...