New Mexico consumers who borrowed from FastBucks between 2007 and 2016 and were identified in the loan data the FastBucks defendants gave the State may qualify for a cash payment from the FastBucks restitution program. Claims close November 24, 2026, and payments are expected to begin in April 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. A claim form must be submitted online by November 24, 2026 at 11:59:59 p.m. MST, or mailed and postmarked no later than that same date.
This is not a class action settlement. It is a restitution program running under a Final Judgment the First Judicial District Court for Santa Fe County entered in 2016, in a case the State of New Mexico filed against FastBucks Holding Corporation and related defendants in 2009. There is no certified class, no opt-out right and no fairness hearing.
The notice says approved payments are expected to begin during April 2027, after claims are reviewed, and that the schedule may change. No payment amount is promised, and receiving a notice does not guarantee that a specific amount is owed.
What Changed Recently?
The State of New Mexico sued FastBucks Holding Corporation and related defendants in 2009, alleging the lenders reworked their products to get around the payday-lending reforms the Legislature adopted in 2007 and steered borrowers into costlier installment loans instead. In 2016 the First Judicial District Court entered a Final Judgment concluding that the FastBucks defendants should pay restitution to consumer borrowers who appeared in the loan data the defendants gave the State and were adversely affected by the business practices at issue.
The New Mexico Department of Justice announced in November 2016 that the judgment came to roughly $32.25 million in restitution. That money did not reach borrowers at the time. The restitution notice says the State later recovered funds through related proceedings and negotiated agreements, and that those recovered funds are what this program distributes.
The program itself is what is new. The Department and EisnerAmper, named in the notice as the Restitution Administrator, opened a notice and claims process in 2026, working from the available loan data, mailing and email records and address research to identify people who may be eligible. Claims run through November 24, 2026.
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Who Qualifies?
Eligibility turns on the program's own records rather than on a class definition. A person may be eligible if program records show they were a consumer borrower identified in the consumer loan data the FastBucks defendants provided to the State, and that they were adversely affected by the FastBucks business practices at issue.
In practical terms, the notice tells anyone who took out one or more loans through FastBucks Holding Corporation between 2007 and 2016 that they may be eligible. Two routes lead into the claim process:
- A notice arrived with a Claim ID Number, in the format ABC-1234567. That number goes on the claim form and lets the administrator match the filer to the program's records directly.
- No notice or no Claim ID Number, but the person believes they borrowed from FastBucks. They can still file, and supply loan information on the form so the administrator can verify they were an adversely affected borrower.
Filing on behalf of someone else is contemplated too. Part 3 of the claim form covers a deceased borrower, an estate or a legal entity; the filer names the borrower or entity, states their relationship and their legal authority, and may be asked for documentation confirming that authority.
The administrator may also reach out if a filer's identity, address, representative authority or entitlement cannot be verified from the records already on hand.
How Much Can You Get?
No amount is promised, and none is published. The notice puts the gross recovered funds associated with this matter at approximately $964,000, based on information from the New Mexico Department of Justice, and says the net amount available for payments will be set under the final program rules after approved administrative expenses and any required adjustments.
What a valid claim is worth will be calculated under the final distribution methodology using whatever the program records hold. The notice lists the inputs that methodology may weigh:
- loan-level data available for the borrower;
- net overpayment calculations;
- the number of valid claims filed;
- the amount of net funds available; and
- minimum or maximum payment rules and other approved program rules.
Two consequences follow from that. A borrower with several qualifying loans may be assessed differently than one with a single loan, and the per-person figure cannot be estimated in advance because it depends on how many people file against a fixed pool.
What Accepting a Restitution Payment Could Mean
Important: the notice devotes a full question to this and asks readers to work through it before they accept, deposit or cash any payment.
Acceptance of restitution through this program may be subject to NMSA 1978, Section 57-12-9, which the notice quotes: "A person need not accept restitution . . . [but their] acceptance of restitution bars recovery of any damages in any action by [the consumer] or on [their] behalf against the same defendant on account of the same unlawful practice." The notice cites a 2023 ruling in a related New Mexico case, State of New Mexico v. Infinity Loans of Albuquerque, New Mexico, LLC, et al., No. D-101-CV-2021-00667 (1st Jud. Dist. Ct. May 15, 2023), and states plainly that a person who accepts restitution here may be barred from recovering damages in an action they bring themselves over the business practices or the entities at issue in this and related litigation.
The notice adds that the effect may depend on the source of the funds, applicable law and the individual's own circumstances, and that neither the Administrator nor the New Mexico Department of Justice can give legal advice. Anyone weighing whether a potential damages claim is worth more than the restitution payment is directed to their own lawyer before accepting.
Doing nothing carries no equivalent risk. The notice says declining to file does not by itself cause a person to accept a restitution payment or release any legal rights they may otherwise have.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No documentation is required, and the claim form can be completed online by someone who never received a notice. The online form opens by asking whether the filer has a Claim ID Number and offers a route for each answer, so the Claim ID is not a gate on filing.
Filers who have a Claim ID Number enter it, and the notice says supporting documents are usually unnecessary in that case because the program relies on existing records.
Filers without one complete Part 2 of the form, supplying either their FastBucks loan ID numbers, which appear on loan documents or payment receipts, or both the approximate dates of their FastBucks loans and the approximate number of loans they took out. Two optional items sit alongside those: any former name associated with the loans, and any additional address associated with them. All of it is self-reported; nothing is uploaded. The notice specifically says not to send original loan documents or other sensitive information unless the administrator asks for them.
The administrator may still request more information later if identity, address, representative authority, deceased-borrower status or entitlement cannot be confirmed from available records.
What Is the Deadline?
Online claim forms must be submitted by November 24, 2026 at 11:59:59 p.m. MST. Mailed claim forms must be postmarked no later than November 24, 2026.
The notice tells filers to keep a copy of whatever they submit and not to file both online and by mail for the same claim.
No other deadline applies. There is no opt-out date and no objection date, because this is not a class action settlement, and updating contact or payment information after filing has no cutoff.
How Do You Take Action?
Filing online is the route the notice recommends. The official FastBucks restitution claim portal walks through four steps: the Claim ID question, claimant information, certification and payment selection, and confirmation. General program information, the court documents and a Spanish-language version sit on the official FastBucks NM Restitution website.
Four things are worth getting right on the form:
- The payment method. Check, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle are the options. A check goes to the address in Part 1; PayPal, Venmo or Zelle requires the mobile phone number or email address tied to that account.
- The mailing address, since a check reaches whatever address the administrator holds. Anyone who has moved since their FastBucks loans should confirm it.
- Part 2, for filers with no Claim ID Number. Skipping it leaves the administrator nothing to verify the claim against.
- The signature. A mailed form is signed under penalty of perjury under New Mexico law; an unsigned paper form is incomplete.
Contact and payment details can be corrected after filing through the update page on the official restitution website. Filing is free at every stage, and the notice states the administrator will not ask anyone to pay money to release a payment — treat any request for a fee, a bank login or a Social Security number as a warning sign, and reach the program only through its official website.
What Happens Next?
Claims filed before the November 24, 2026 deadline go through review and verification against the program records. The administrator may contact filers whose identity, address, authority or entitlement it cannot confirm.
Approved payments are expected to begin during April 2027, subject to change. The notice tells claimants to keep their contact information current so a follow-up request, a payment, a replacement payment or a stale-payment notice can reach them.
The notice also describes what happens to the information a claimant submits: it is used to verify eligibility, process the claim, communicate, issue payment, and meet reporting and reconciliation obligations, and it may be shared with the New Mexico Department of Justice, approved vendors, payment processors, banking institutions, courts and other parties as needed to administer the program. Depending on the final program rules and the payment amount, the program may be required to collect tax information or issue tax forms; the administrator states that it cannot give tax, benefits or financial advice.
Sources and Verification
- FastBucks Restitution Program Long Form Notice and Claim Form, State of New Mexico v. FastBucks Holding Corporation, et al., No. D-101-CV-2009-01917 (1st Jud. Dist. Ct., Santa Fe County) — embedded below.
- Official FastBucks NM Restitution website and its frequently asked questions, administered by EisnerAmper.
- Official online claim portal, including the Claim ID question and the Part 2 claimant information form.
- New Mexico Department of Justice announcement of the November 2016 judgment against FastBucks, for the roughly $32.25 million restitution figure.
Questions
Is the FastBucks restitution program a class action settlement?
No. It is a restitution program run under a Final Judgment the First Judicial District Court entered in 2016 in an enforcement case the State of New Mexico brought. The New Mexico Department of Justice and EisnerAmper administer it. There is no certified class, no opt-out right and no fairness hearing, so the steps a class member would expect in a class action settlement do not apply here.
Can you file a FastBucks claim without a Claim ID Number?
Yes. The online claim form opens with a choice between having a Claim ID Number and not having one, and the no-ID route completes online. Filers taking it must give either their FastBucks loan ID numbers, or both the approximate dates of their loans and the approximate number of loans they took out. No documents are uploaded, and the notice says not to send original loan documents unless the administrator asks for them.
Can a family member file for a FastBucks borrower who has died?
Yes. Part 3 of the claim form covers filing on behalf of a deceased borrower, an estate or a legal entity. The filer checks a box, names the borrower or entity, and states their relationship and their legal authority to file. The administrator may ask for estate, guardianship, power-of-attorney or similar documentation confirming that authority before the claim is treated as complete.
Why is about $964,000 available when the 2016 FastBucks judgment was far larger?
The New Mexico Department of Justice announced in November 2016 that the court had entered a judgment of roughly $32.25 million in restitution. The restitution notice does not account for the difference. It says only that the State later recovered funds through related proceedings and negotiated agreements, and that those recovered funds, approximately $964,000 gross, are what this program distributes.
How will FastBucks restitution payments be issued?
The available methods are paper check, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle. A check goes to the mailing address given on the claim form. Choosing PayPal, Venmo or Zelle requires giving the mobile phone number or email address tied to that account. The notice says approved payments are expected to begin during April 2027 and that the schedule may change.
