June 20 (Reuters) - Walmart ( WMT ) has agreed to pay

$10 million to settle a U.S. Federal Trade Commission civil

lawsuit accusing the world's largest retailer of ignoring

warning signs that fraudsters used its money transfer services

to fleece consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The settlement was filed on Friday in Chicago federal court,

and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Manish Shah.

Walmart ( WMT ) also agreed not to process money transfers it

suspects are fraudulent, or help sellers and telemarketers it

believes are using its services to commit fraud.

"Electronic money transfers are one of the most common ways

that scammers tell consumers to send them money, because once

it's sent, it's gone for good," said Christopher Mufarrige,

director of the FTC consumer protection bureau. "Companies that

provide these services must train their employees to comply with

the law and work to protect consumers."

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer did not admit or

deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. Walmart ( WMT ) did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

In its June 2022 complaint, the FTC accused Walmart ( WMT ) of

turning a blind eye to fraudsters who used its money transfer

services to cash out at its stores.

Walmart ( WMT ) acts as an agent for money transfers by companies

such as MoneyGram, Ria and Western Union ( WU ). Money

can be hard to trace once delivered.

The FTC said fraudsters used many schemes that included

impersonating Internal Revenue Service agents, impersonating

family members who needed money from grandparents to avoid jail,

and telling victims they won lotteries or sweepstakes but owed

fees to collect their winnings.

Shah dismissed part of the FTC case last July but let the

regulator pursue the remainder. Walmart ( WMT ) appealed from that

decision. Friday's settlement would end the appeal.

The case is Federal Trade Commission v Walmart Inc ( WMT ), U.S.

District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 22-03372.