Fort Wayne Medical Education Program (FWMEP) Data Breach Settlement: Claim Up to $5,000 Plus Free Credit or Medical Monitoring

This case is about a targeted cyberattack on FWMEP’s computer systems in December 2024. The lawsuit says that during the attack, certain files were accessed that held people’s private information, which could include personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). The people who sued claim FWMEP did not do enough to protect this data.

FWMEP denies it did anything wrong and says it has strong defenses. The court has not decided who is right. Both sides agreed to settle to avoid the cost, risk, and delay of a trial, and the settlement is not an admission of fault by FWMEP.

The court has given the settlement preliminary approval and appointed the class representatives and Class Counsel. A Final Approval Hearing is scheduled, and the court will decide at that hearing whether to give final approval. Payments and monitoring codes go out only after final approval and after any appeals are resolved.

You may qualify if your private information was potentially compromised in the December 2024 incident and your name is on the official Settlement Class List. FWMEP’s records identify who is on that list. To take part, you must submit a valid Claim Form by the deadline. You can file online, or download a paper form and send it by email or U.S. mail.

To check whether you are included, look for a notice sent to you by mail or email. To file online you log in with your “LoginID” and “PIN,” which are printed on the notice you were mailed. If you cannot find your LoginID and PIN, you can email the administrator with your full name and mailing address to request them, or you can use the option on the claim website to file a claim without your LoginID and PIN. The paper Claim Form also has a “Login ID (if known)” field, and it must be signed under penalty of perjury.

Whether you need to send supporting documents depends on what you claim. If you are asking for reimbursement of out-of-pocket losses or fraud losses, you must attach proof such as receipts. If you only want the free monitoring service, the Lost Time payment, or the flat $40 Alternative Cash Payment, no receipts are required (Lost Time only needs a short written description). The Settlement Administrator may contact you to ask for more information or clarification before approving your claim, and can give you time to fix an incomplete form.