That’s according to a CoinDesk report on Thursday (Nov. 5), which noted that the agreement-in-principle settlement is larger than the $566 million profit Block—owner of CashApp and Square—reported for the third quarter.
The agreement, reached last month and disclosed earlier this week in securities filing viewed by CoinDesk, would defer for three years a criminal charge accusing Block of failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering (AML) program.
The investigation began in 2023, when the Justice Department—joined the following year by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—began looking into allegations concerning Block’s compliance practices and other disclosures in the wake of a short-seller report. The SEC closed its investigation in March and has said it would not pursue enforcement action.
The report, from short seller Hindenburg Research, alleged that Cash App boosted its user numbers by counting duplicate and fraudulent accounts, while lax identity checks let criminals use the platform for scams, money laundering and other illegal payments.
PYMNTS has contacted Block for comment but has not yet received a reply. Per CoinDesk, Block has rejected the findings and called them inaccurate and misleading.
The company said in its filing that it has the money set aside to cover the settlement. If Block adheres to the terms of the settlement, the Justice Department will dismiss the case with prejudice, the filing said.
In related news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week about Block’s efforts to put “artificial intelligence on both sides of a sale,” with voice ordering for Square customers and software that readies purchase orders for sellers, as Cash App attracts more shoppers via local businesses.
“They want something that’s really easy to use and they want something that’s immediately accessible and Square can deliver that,” Block CEO Jack Dorsey said during the company’s earnings call’s analyst Q&A, describing his conversations with smaller sellers about AI.
The earnings show that Square processed $76.4 billion during the third quarter, a 14% increase year over year. Food and beverage led the major seller categories, while retail volume climbed 13% and services increased 8%.
Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said new sellers joining through independent sales organizations jumped 90% from the previous quarter, from a still-small portion of Square’s business. Cash App’s September transacting base increased 4% year over year, its fastest pace since the middle of 2024.
