New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a restitution agreement with TurboTax owner Intuit Inc. (Intuit) Wednesday “for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free.”

Attorney General James states “Intuit will pay $141 million in restitution to millions of consumers across the nation who were unfairly charged.” This issue stems from TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign that enticed customers with the promise “of free tax preparation services, only to deceive them into paying.”

The Attorney General’s announcement said that:

Intuit will provide restitution to nearly 4.4 million consumers who started using TurboTax’s Free Edition for tax years 2016 through 2018 and were told that they had to pay to file even though they were eligible to file for free using the IRS Free File program offered through TurboTax. Consumers are expected to receive a direct payment of approximately $30 for each year that they were deceived into paying for filing services. Impacted consumers will automatically receive notices and a check by mail.

All 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia, signed onto the agreement. In addition to paying restitution, Intuit agreed to reforming its business practices. James hopes “[t]his agreement [will] serve as a reminder to companies large and small that engaging in these deceptive marketing ploys is illegal.”