People in the U.S. whose personal information was impacted in the August 2020 security incident at Telmate, LLC, the prison communications provider that does business as ViaPath Technologies, may qualify to claim up to $5,000 in documented losses plus an equal pro rata cash payment from the $4,225,000 Telmate data breach class action settlement. Claims close December 21, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for February 12, 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. Claim Forms must be submitted online or postmarked no later than December 21, 2026, which is also the deadline to exclude yourself or object. The final approval hearing was moved on September 14, 2026 and is now set for February 12, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Court has not granted final approval, and no payment date had been announced as of September 24, 2026.Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
What Changed Recently?
The settlement in Cooper v. Telmate, LLC, No. 1:24-cv-01622, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, is now in its claim period, with Kroll Settlement Administration sending notice and taking claims. On September 14, 2026, the Court granted a joint motion from the parties and moved the final approval hearing from December 18, 2026 to February 12, 2027. The December 21, 2026 claim deadline was not described as changing.The lawsuit concerns a security incident in which, according to the settlement materials, unauthorized third parties accessed Telmate's computer network between August 11 and August 13, 2020 and personal information of people who used Telmate's services was compromised. Telmate, which does business as ViaPath Technologies, runs communications services used inside correctional facilities and by the people who keep in touch with someone in custody, including GettingOut, VisitNow and VisitMe, Command, Inmate Telephone and Guardian.
The plaintiffs allege that Telmate failed to adequately protect that information. Telmate denies the claims and any wrongdoing, and the Court has not decided who is right. The parties agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation.
The same breach period drew regulatory attention. The Federal Trade Commission brought a separate administrative case against Global Tel*Link Corporation and two subsidiaries, one of them Telmate, LLC, alleging that in August 2020 the companies and a vendor copied sensitive, unencrypted data on nearly 650,000 users into a cloud environment without adequate protection, and that affected users were not all notified. The FTC finalized its order on February 23, 2024. That order imposed data security and breach-notification obligations; it is not part of this class action and pays nothing to class members.
Who Qualifies?
The Settlement Class covers individuals in the United States whose Personal Information was impacted in the August 2020 Security Incident. Membership turns on whether your information was involved, not on which Telmate product you used or whether you were the person in custody or the person on the outside.A notice from the Settlement Administrator is the clearest sign you are in the class. People who opt out are excluded, along with the other categories the Settlement Agreement lists; the full definition and exclusion list are in the notice on the official settlement website.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement creates a $4,225,000 Settlement Fund, and a class member can claim two benefits from it at once:- Documented out-of-pocket losses — up to $5,000 per person. Reimbursement of money actually lost because of the Security Incident, supported by documentation. These claims are paid first.
- Pro rata cash payment. After loss reimbursements and court-approved costs, the rest of the fund is split in equal shares among class members who file valid claims. No documentation is needed for this payment.
The pro rata payment is not a fixed amount and no estimate has been published. Its size depends on how many valid claims are filed and how much is paid out in loss reimbursements first. The fund also pays settlement administration costs and whatever the Court awards in attorneys' fees (requested at up to $1,408,333.33, one-third of the fund), litigation costs (up to $35,000) and a service award for the class representative (up to $5,000). If the Court grants those requests in full, they total $1,448,333.33, leaving at most $2,776,666.67 before administration costs and loss reimbursements are taken out. That figure is simple arithmetic on the requested amounts, not an estimate of any individual payment.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
The pro rata payment requires no receipts. The loss reimbursement does: each claimed loss needs documentation showing what was spent and supporting the connection to the Security Incident. The Claim Form lists the kinds of losses it covers and the documents it accepts; read it before you gather paperwork.If you were sent a notice about this settlement, keep it with you when you file. It carries the identifier the administrator uses to match a claim to the class list. Anyone who did not receive a notice but believes their information was involved should use the official website's FAQ and contact page to confirm how to file without one, rather than assuming they are not in the class.
What Is the Deadline?
- December 21, 2026 — claims. Online Claim Forms must be submitted, and paper Claim Forms postmarked, no later than this date. The settlement materials give a date without a time of day, so file early.
- December 21, 2026 — exclusion and objection. The same date is the deadline to opt out, which keeps your right to sue Telmate on your own, or to object to the settlement while staying in it. The notice sets out exactly what an opt-out request or objection must contain.
- February 12, 2027 — final approval hearing, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Class members who do nothing stay in the class, are bound by the settlement's release of claims about the Security Incident, and receive nothing, because payment requires a Claim Form.
How Do You Take Action?
File through the official Telmate data breach settlement website, which hosts the online Claim Form and the court-approved settlement documents. A Claim Form can also be mailed.To claim only the pro rata payment, complete and submit the Claim Form. To claim loss reimbursement as well, fill in the loss section and attach your documentation. A mailed form must be postmarked by December 21, 2026. Contact options for the administrator are on the official website.
OpenClassActions is not the settlement administrator and cannot confirm whether your information was involved or what your payment will be. Those answers come from the official settlement website.
What Happens Next?
The Court will hold the final approval hearing on February 12, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. It will decide whether the settlement is fair and whether to approve the requested attorneys' fees, costs and service award, and it will consider any timely objections. A hearing is not an approval order, and the date can move again; the official website posts any change.Payments are made only after the Court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved. No payment date had been announced as of September 24, 2026.
Sources and Verification
- The official settlement website, including the court-approved notice, Claim Form and Settlement Agreement.
- The administrator's published summary notice of the settlement.
- The court docket for Cooper v. Telmate, LLC, No. 1:24-cv-01622 (E.D. Va.), including the September 14, 2026 order rescheduling the final approval hearing.
- The FTC's case page for Global Tel*Link Corporation, which names Telmate, LLC as a respondent, and the FTC's February 2024 announcement of the final order.
Questions
Do I have to choose between the pro rata payment and the loss reimbursement?
No. The two benefits stack. A class member can claim reimbursement of documented out-of-pocket losses, up to $5,000, and also receive an equal share of whatever money is left in the fund after those reimbursements and the court-approved costs are paid. A class member with no losses to document can still file for the pro rata payment alone.
How much will the pro rata cash payment be?
No figure has been published, and none can be until the claim deadline passes. The payment is an equal share of what remains in the $4,225,000 fund after documented-loss reimbursements, administration costs and any fees, costs and service award the Court approves. The more valid claims are filed, the smaller each share. If the Court approves the full requests, fees, costs and the service award together come to $1,448,333.33, which leaves at most $2,776,666.67 before administration costs and loss reimbursements.
I used GettingOut or another Telmate app to talk to someone in custody. Am I covered?
Using a Telmate product is not by itself enough. The class is limited to individuals in the United States whose personal information was impacted in the August 2020 security incident. Both incarcerated people and their friends and family on the outside used Telmate services, so either group can be in the class if their information was involved. People who were sent a notice about the incident are the clearest case; anyone unsure should check the official settlement website.
Is this the same as the FTC case against Global Tel*Link?
No. The Federal Trade Commission brought a separate administrative case against Global Tel*Link Corporation, Telmate, LLC and TouchPay Holdings, LLC over an August 2020 data breach, and issued a final order on February 23, 2024. That order imposed data security and notification requirements; it is not this class action and does not pay class members. The cash in this settlement comes only from the $4,225,000 fund in Cooper v. Telmate, LLC.
Why did the final approval hearing move?
On September 14, 2026 the Court granted a joint motion and rescheduled the final approval hearing from December 18, 2026 to February 12, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The claim deadline of December 21, 2026 was not described as changing. A later hearing date pushes back the earliest point at which the Court could approve the settlement and payments could begin.
