If you’ve bought chicken in the last 10 years, it just might be payback time! As part of a class action settlement for $181 million dollars, consumers may be eligible to receive cash back due to a scheme among some poultry companies that was really for the birds.

NBC News Chicago reported that prosecutors in the Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation lawsuit alleged that several companies conspired to stabilize the price and supply of chicken in violation of state and federal consumer antitrust laws.

If you purchased chicken from Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2020 from Fieldale Farms Corporation, George’s, Mar-Jac Poultry, Peco Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson Foods you could be eligible to receive payment.

Anyone who purchased a fresh or frozen raw chicken or whole, cut-up birds within a package or white meat parts could have a claim, said the lawsuit. Meat marketed as halal, kosher, free-range or organic is not included in the lawsuit.

If the chicken you purchased was bought in the following states you could qualify: California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.

“Over $180 million in settlements have been reached with the defendants in this litigation,” Brent W. Johnson, co-lead counsel with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC told TODAY Food via email. “This represents significant recovery for consumers who were harmed by the defendants conspiring to raise the price of chicken in grocery stores and other retailers.”

Consumers can check their eligibility and file a claim at www.overchargedforchicken.com or by calling (877) 888-5428 by Dec. 31, 2022.