Because a New York shoe manufacturer knowingly put an illegal foot forward, the territory will get $14,500.
According to a press release from V.I. Attorney General Iver Stridiron, the Virgin Islands joined a $34 million national settlement with 55 other attorneys general against the shoemaker Nine West Group.
The settlement came about in the U.S. District Court of New York after Nine West Group was accused of a wide-ranging price-fixing scheme.
Nine West Group allegedly entered into illegal agreements with shoe retailers to fix the price of womens shoes over 10 years starting in 1988. According to Stridiron, various Nine West Group divisions, including Easy Spirit, Enzo, Angiolini and Nine West, ordered retailers not to discount certain shoes.
Nine West Group was accused of telling retailers that shoes couldnt be discounted outside of certain time periods dictated by the manufacturer. In order to enforce what federal prosecutors called "illegal pricing policies," the Nine West Group gave discounts to cooperating retailers and withheld discounts or threatened to cancel or refuse to take orders from companies that wouldnt cooperate.
As a result of the alleged illegal pricing agreements, prosecutors argue that consumers were denied an open, competitive market for certain Nine West Group shoes, and therefore paid higher prices.
Under the terms of the $34 million settlement, the Virgin Islands will use its share for womens health, educational, vocational and safety programs, according to the AG. Also under the terms of the settlement, Nine West Group did not admit any liability or wrongdoing.