Benworth Capital Data Breach Settlement

Benworth notice recipients may claim. This settlement resolves claims over a data incident at Benworth Capital Partners LLC, a Florida-based lender, that occurred on or about May 18, 2025 and exposed names, addresses, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers and loan account information. The administrator mailed notice on September 25, 2026. Four things are worth understanding before you file. First, the two cash options are either-or, but the credit monitoring is automatic. You pick either an estimated $50 with no documentation, or up to $5,000 in documented losses — not both; the official site offers Alternative Cash “instead of” the documented-loss option. Separately, one year of free credit monitoring goes to every class member automatically, with no claim required, using the activation code on your notice. Second, the $5,000 caps one option for one person — it is not a fund, and the $50 is officially an “estimated” payment, not a guaranteed amount. The documented-loss route also only covers losses incurred after May 18, 2025. Third, this class is people Benworth sent notice to, and only living individuals. Having had a loan with Benworth is not the test — being on the notice list is. And because this is a lender whose breached data included loan account information, note that the class covers individuals, not companies: a notice addressed to an LLC, trust or business does not put that entity in the class. Governmental entities are excluded, and the class definition excludes one person by name, Joseph Boggan. Fourth, the opt-out and objection deadline is December 4, 2026 — 17 days before the December 21 claim deadline. One practical note in claimants’ favor: the online claim form requires the LoginID and PIN from your notice, but the printable paper form can be mailed in, and the administrator will give you a lost ID and PIN on request.

Do I Qualify?

You may be eligible if:

• You are a living individual residing in the United States, AND Benworth Capital Partners LLC sent you notice that your Private Information may have been impacted in the Data Incident on or about May 18, 2025. That is the entire class definition
• BEING ON THE NOTICE LIST IS THE TEST -- NOT HAVING HAD A LOAN. The administrator mailed notice on September 25, 2026. If you borrowed from Benworth but were never sent a notice, the class definition does not reach you; if you are unsure, Simpluris will check at (833) 360-6904 or info@BenworthDataSettlement.com
• THE CLASS COVERS PEOPLE, NOT COMPANIES. This matters more here than in a typical breach case. Benworth is a lender, the breached information included loan account information, and lenders of this kind lend heavily to LLCs, trusts and small businesses. The class is limited to living individuals, and there is no entity route in the definition -- so a notice addressed to a business rather than to a person does not make that business a class member
• “LIVING” IS ALSO A LIMIT. The class is defined as living individuals, so a notice that arrived for a relative who has since died does not by itself create a claim for the estate. Ask the administrator about any specific situation
• You reside in the United States. US residence is part of the class definition. Any state qualifies and benefits do not vary by state, though the case is Florida litigation and Benworth is a Florida-based lender, so many class members will be Florida borrowers
• You do NOT need to have lost any money. The estimated $50 Alternative Cash payment requires no documentation at all, and the one year of credit monitoring requires no claim and no documentation. Proof is only needed if you claim documented losses instead of the $50
• You do NOT need to file anything to get the credit monitoring. It is automatic for every class member. You only need to file to get cash
• But you DO have to choose between the two cash options. Alternative Cash is offered “instead of” the documented-loss option -- the estimated $50 or up to $5,000 in documented losses, not both
• If you want the documented-loss option, your losses were INCURRED AFTER May 18, 2025, are actual, documented and unreimbursed, were more likely than not caused by the Data Incident, and were not already reimbursed from another source
• You are not in an excluded group. The exclusions are: directors, officers and agents of Benworth; governmental entities; the Judge assigned to the lawsuit, the Judge’s immediate family and Court staff; anyone who properly opts out; and Joseph Boggan, who is excluded by name
• You act by the deadlines. A claim must be submitted online by December 21, 2026 or mailed with a postmark no later than that date. December 4, 2026 is the separate, earlier deadline to opt out or object

There are two different hurdles here, and they are easy to confuse. Hurdle one: getting into the claim form. The Claim Form Login page states that to start the online claim form you must log in with the LoginID and PIN printed at the top of the Notice that was sent to you. The same gate applies to the Enrollment Instructions Request form. But the paper route is genuinely open. The same page says you may also download a Claim Form and submit it by US mail, with any supporting documentation, to Benworth Settlement Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799. That is a meaningful difference from settlements that gate the printable form behind the notice code too. And if your notice is gone, the official site tells you the fix: email info@BenworthDataSettlement.com with your full name and mailing address and the administrator will provide your LoginID and PIN. Hurdle two: documenting the benefit you picked. This splits cleanly. The one year of free credit monitoring needs no claim and no documentation whatsoever — it is automatic, and the activation code is already on your notice. The estimated $50 Alternative Cash payment requires no documentation of losses either. Only the up-to-$5,000 documented-loss option requires proof. What counts as documentation. The official FAQ requires that the loss be (i) an actual, documented and unreimbursed monetary loss, (ii) more likely than not caused by the Data Incident, and (iii) incurred after the date of the Data Incident — so nothing from before May 18, 2025. Examples of reasonable documentation given are telephone records, correspondence including emails, and receipts. Self-prepared documents such as handwritten receipts are, by themselves, insufficient, though the FAQ does allow that they can be considered to clarify or support other submitted documentation — a slightly softer rule than some settlements use. The examples of qualifying losses are unreimbursed losses relating to actual fraud or identity theft. What will not be reimbursed. You will not be reimbursed for expenses already reimbursed by another source, and the FAQ expressly includes payment provided in connection with any credit monitoring or identity theft protection product in that bar. The risk that makes the $50 the safer pick for most people. The official FAQ states that if you do not submit reasonable documentation supporting your loss, or the Settlement Administrator determines your claim is incomplete and you do not fix it, your claim will be denied. Nothing on the official site describes a fallback that converts a failed documented-loss claim into the estimated $50. If your paperwork is thin, choosing the documented route is a real gamble rather than a free upgrade.

What Happened?

Benworth Capital Partners LLC is a Florida-based lender. In the course of its lending business it collected and maintained the private information of individual borrowers and loan applicants.

According to the official settlement website, on or about May 18, 2025 a Data Incident involving Benworth resulted in the unauthorized access to or acquisition of Settlement Class Members’ Private Information collected by Benworth, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers and loan account information. The combination of a Social Security number with loan account details is the kind of data set that supports both new-account fraud and targeted impersonation, which is the backdrop to the documented-loss benefit in this settlement.

A class action followed: Amanda Arreola, et al v. Benworth Capital Partners LLC, Case No. CACE-26-012064, in the Circuit Court of Broward County, Florida, before Judge Martin J. Bidwill. Benworth denies it did anything wrong. The Court has not decided who is right or wrong -- the parties agreed to settle instead.

The Court appointed Jeff Ostrow of Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A. and Mariya Weekes of Milberg PLLC as Class Counsel. Class members are not charged for these lawyers. Benworth is represented by John T. Mills of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP.

The Court granted preliminary approval and the Settlement Administrator, Simpluris, mailed notice to the class on September 25, 2026. Each notice carries two codes that matter: the LoginID and PIN used to open the online claim form, and the activation code for the free credit monitoring. That is why the official site repeatedly tells class members to keep the notice.

The official settlement website does not disclose a common settlement fund. Benefits are described per class member rather than as shares of a pot, and no pro rata reduction is described. Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees and costs of up to $750,000 and Service Awards of up to $2,000 for each Class Representative; if awarded, Benworth pays those amounts, and the Court may award less than requested.

The Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for January 5, 2027 at 8:45 a.m. EST in Courtroom WW16175, 201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a Zoom option published on the official site. The site warns the date and time may change without further notice and that the Court may decide to hold the hearing by video or telephone. Class members do not have to attend. Benefits are provided only if the Court approves the Settlement, and the credit monitoring code can only be activated after final approval. No payment date has been published.

One unusual procedural detail: an objection to this settlement must disclose whether the objector or their lawyer used any form of Artificial Intelligence to prepare it, along with the objector’s history of prior class action objections. Class Counsel and Benworth’s counsel may also conduct limited discovery of any objector.

How to File Your Claim

1. FILE AT BENWORTHDATASETTLEMENT.COM -- the official settlement website, administered by Simpluris. Use the Submit a Claim tab for the online form, or download the printable Claim Form from the same page
2. THE ONLINE FORM IS GATED BY A LOGINID AND PIN -- BUT THE PAPER FORM IS A REAL WAY AROUND IT. The Claim Form Login page states that to start the online claim form you must log in with the LoginID and PIN printed at the top of the Notice that was sent to you. That is where most people stop. Read one paragraph further: the same page says you may also download a Claim Form and submit it, with any supporting documentation, by US mail to Benworth Settlement Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799. So unlike some data breach settlements that gate both routes behind the notice code, this one leaves the mail route open
3. LOST YOUR NOTICE? ASK FOR THE ID AND PIN -- THE OFFICIAL SITE TELLS YOU HOW. Email info@BenworthDataSettlement.com with your full name and mailing address and the administrator will supply your LoginID and PIN. Do this early rather than in the final week
4. THEN PICK ONE OF THE TWO CASH OPTIONS -- YOU CANNOT HAVE BOTH. The official site frames Alternative Cash as payable “instead of the benefits in Cash Payment Option 1 - Documented Losses.” So it is an estimated $50 with no documentation, OR up to $5,000 in documented losses. Not both
5. DO NOT FILE A CLAIM FOR THE CREDIT MONITORING -- YOU ALREADY HAVE IT. One year of free credit monitoring is automatic for every Settlement Class Member with no claim required. The activation code is printed on your Settlement Notice, which is a second reason to keep the notice even if you file on paper. The product is CyEx Financial Shield Complete, and it can only be activated AFTER final settlement approval, at https://app.financialshield.com/enrollment/activate/Benworth. The site also offers an Enrollment Instructions Request form that will email you the instructions once the settlement is final
6. IF YOU CLAIM DOCUMENTED LOSSES, SEND THIRD-PARTY RECORDS AND WATCH THE DATE. The loss must be actual, documented and unreimbursed, more likely than not caused by the Data Incident, and INCURRED AFTER THE DATE OF THE DATA INCIDENT. Acceptable documentation includes telephone records, correspondence including emails, and receipts. Self-prepared documents such as handwritten receipts are not enough on their own, though they can be used to clarify or support other proof. If you do not submit reasonable documentation, or your claim is incomplete and you do not fix it, the claim will be denied
7. THE CLAIM DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 21, 2026 -- submitted online by that date, or mailed with a postmark no later than that date. The administrator’s own FAQ warns that mail is postmarked when it reaches a processing facility, not when you drop it off, and recommends mailing at least a week early, getting a manual postmark in person, or using Certified Mail
8. WATCH THE EARLIER DEADLINE -- DECEMBER 4, 2026. Opting out and objecting both close 17 days before claims do. An opt-out must be signed and postmarked by December 4, 2026
9. an objection must be filed with the Court so it is received by December 4, 2026 and served on counsel and the administrator postmarked by that date. Opting out is the only way to keep the right to sue Benworth separately, and it forfeits every settlement benefit including the credit monitoring
10. QUESTIONS: Simpluris at (833) 360-6904 toll free, 24/7, or info@BenworthDataSettlement.com. The official site asks that you not contact the Court or the Clerk of Court about the settlement
11. Visit the official claim form: https://benworthdatasettlement.com/

How Much Will I Actually Get?

THE TWO CASH OPTIONS ARE EITHER-OR; THE CREDIT MONITORING IS AUTOMATIC AND STACKS ON TOP. Get the shape of this settlement straight before you file, because it is a hybrid and the headline hides that. On the cash side you must choose one: an estimated $50 Alternative Cash payment with no documentation, OR reimbursement of documented losses up to $5,000. The official Claim Form Login page is explicit that Alternative Cash is available “instead of the benefits in Cash Payment Option 1 - Documented Losses.” The third benefit behaves completely differently: one year of free credit monitoring goes to every Settlement Class Member AUTOMATICALLY, WITHOUT SUBMITTING A CLAIM. It does not reduce your cash, you do not choose between it and cash, and you cannot increase it by filing. THE $50 IS OFFICIALLY AN ESTIMATE, NOT A GUARANTEE. This is a small wording difference with real consequences and it is worth seeing plainly. Both the settlement home page and the Claim Form Login page describe Option 2 as “an estimated cash payment of $50.00.” The official settlement website does not publish a formula or a figure for what the final amount will be, so treat $50 as the administrator’s estimate of the per-person payment rather than a fixed, promised number. THE $5,000 CAPS ONE OPTION FOR ONE PERSON -- IT IS NOT A SETTLEMENT FUND AND IT IS NOT AN ADD-ON. The $5,000 ceiling applies per class member, to documented losses only, and only if you choose that option instead of the $50. Nobody receives $50 plus $5,000. The documented-loss route is also narrower than it sounds: the loss must be an actual, documented and unreimbursed monetary loss, more likely than not caused by the Data Incident, and INCURRED AFTER THE DATE OF THE DATA INCIDENT -- so costs you ran up before May 18, 2025 do not qualify no matter how real they were. The examples given are unreimbursed losses relating to actual fraud or identity theft. You will not be reimbursed for anything already covered by another source, and the official FAQ specifically includes payments made through any credit monitoring or identity theft protection product in that bar. NEITHER BIG DOLLAR FIGURE IN THIS SETTLEMENT IS A POT OF CLASS MONEY. Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees and costs of up to $750,000 and Service Awards of up to $2,000 for each Class Representative. If awarded, Benworth pays those amounts, and the Court may award less. They are not a fund being divided among claimants. The official settlement website does not disclose a common settlement fund at all -- benefits are described per class member, not as shares of a pot, and no pro rata reduction is described. NOTHING IS PAID UNTIL THE COURT APPROVES. The Final Approval Hearing is set for January 5, 2027 at 8:45 a.m. EST in Courtroom WW16175, 201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a Zoom option, and the official site warns the date and time may change without further notice. Settlement Class Member Benefits are provided only if the Court approves the Settlement, the credit monitoring code can only be activated after final approval, and the administrator states that this may take time. No payment date has been published.

Last reviewed: October 12, 2026 | Information verified from court records and official settlement documents.

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