RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced that the Commonwealth of Virginia has reached a settlement with the ownership group of the NFL’s Washington Commanders after the team’s previous owners did not return hundreds of thousands of dollars in security deposits paid by season ticket holders in Virginia.
According to Miyares’ office, the team has returned over $600,000 security deposits to around 475 season ticket holders and has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties and costs.
Miyares’ office began investigating the Commanders keeping season ticket holders’ security deposits in April of 2022, about a year before the team was sold by longtime owner Dan Snyder to Josh Harris.
It was determined during the investigation that the team had been requiring some season ticket holders to pay security deposits since at least 1997, two years before Snyder bought the team from the estate of former owner Jack Kent Cooke, of which the team “unlawfully retained significant sums.”
In 2014, the team sent around 650 letters to former season ticket holders with unrefunded security deposits, saying it would “remit unclaimed funds to state unclaimed property offices.” According to Miyares’ office, the team did not remit a single unclaimed security deposit to an state unclaimed property office until at least 2023.
“I am pleased that we were able to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the Washington Commanders that requires restitution of unlawfully retained security deposits to consumers,” said Miyares. “I thank the team’s current ownership for cooperating with this investigation, and for working towards rectifying the consumer harm we identified.”
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced that the Commonwealth of Virginia has reached a settlement with the ownership group of the NFL’s Washington Commanders after the team’s previous owners did not return hundreds of thousands of dollars in security deposits paid by season ticket holders in Virginia.
According to Miyares’ office, the team has returned over $600,000 security deposits to around 475 season ticket holders and has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties and costs.
Miyares’ office began investigating the Commanders keeping season ticket holders’ security deposits in April of 2022, about a year before the team was sold by longtime owner Dan Snyder to Josh Harris.
It was determined during the investigation that the team had been requiring some season ticket holders to pay security deposits since at least 1997, two years before Snyder bought the team from the estate of former owner Jack Kent Cooke, of which the team “unlawfully retained significant sums.”
In 2014, the team sent around 650 letters to former season ticket holders with unrefunded security deposits, saying it would “remit unclaimed funds to state unclaimed property offices.” According to Miyares’ office, the team did not remit a single unclaimed security deposit to an state unclaimed property office until at least 2023.
“I am pleased that we were able to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the Washington Commanders that requires restitution of unlawfully retained security deposits to consumers,” said Miyares. “I thank the team’s current ownership for cooperating with this investigation, and for working towards rectifying the consumer harm we identified.”