Your service member may be eligible for a $1,000 check from Sallie Mae after the lending giant made a deal with the U.S. Justice and Education departments this week.

The government claims Sallie Mae, and its former loan servicing unit, now known as Navient DE Corp., of denying service members protection under the Service members' Civil Relief Act. The law requires that eligible military members receive an interest rate cap on certain consumer loans, including education loans.

The government claims that Sallie Mae knowingly ignored thousands of requests from military members to lower their interest rates. While the company has not admitted to any wrongdoing, it has agreed to a $60 million payout to troops and has agreed to work with individuals to remove overdue loan payments from their credit history.

The payments are estimated to average about $1,000 per person and are due to about 60,000 individuals.

An independent organization will work to locate troops who are due the payment and send them their money. If you think you are due money from the settlement, visit www.justice.gov to find additional information, however Justice Department officials have said individuals do not have to contact the department to receive the refunds. If you are due a refund, officials said, they will find you.