Roughly a year after a Wisconsin auto dealer group was penalized by the Federal Trade Commission and the Wisconsin attorney general for what authorities deemed to be discriminatory F&I activities, the FTC is beginning to send more than $1 million in refunds to consumers deemed to be impacted.

The FTC began to deploy refunds last week, according to a news release from the regulator.

The FTC and state of Wisconsin took action against Rhinelander Auto and its general manager last October, alleging that they regularly charged many customers junk fees for “add-on” products or services without the customer’s consent.

The defendants also discriminated against American Indian customers in the cost of financing by adding more “markup” to their interest rates, according to the complaint.

“Working closely with the State of Wisconsin, we are holding these dealerships accountable for discriminating against American Indian customers and sneaking junk fees onto consumers’ bills,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said a year ago in another news release.

“A vehicle is one of the most expensive purchases families make, and we are fully committed to ensuring that all consumers navigating the car-buying process can do so without facing unlawful discrimination or paying for products and services they do not want,” Levine continued.