I guess I was too busy crying over the loss of My Girl last August, because I completely missed the Chase bank “infinite money glitch,” even though that’s my bank! The glitch went viral on social media, and it’s not hard to see why: Chase ATMs were allowing people to deposit fraudulent checks and quickly withdraw the money before the checks had time to clear or bounce. Once the glitch was corrected, Chase set about getting their money back by sending over 1,000 letters where they simply asked customers to please return the funds. How quaint. Then in October, Chase ramped things up by filing federal lawsuits against some of the larger thefts. Now Chase is branching out (bank pun!) by filing state lawsuits for incidents where under $75K was stolen:
JPMorgan Chase has now filed lawsuits against additional individuals, who they claim stole amounts of up to $75,000. The company, the largest bank in America, first filed a string of lawsuits in October.
In a suit filed in Georgia’s Gwinnett County on Tuesday, April 15, that was obtained by PEOPLE, JPMorgan Chase states, “On August 29, 2024, a masked man deposited a check in [the defendant’s] Chase bank account in the amount of $73,000.00.”
The lawsuit goes on to claim that the defendant then made a series of cash withdrawals over the next several days, taking out a total of $82,500 from the bank, before the check bounced six days later.
JPMorgan Chase alleges that the defendant currently owes them $57,847.69 and has failed to pay the amount back, despite the bank’s demands.
The suit asks that the defendant be found liable for the amount in question, as well as for interest, plus related attorney fees.
An attorney for the defendant in the Gwinnett County lawsuit did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In addition to the case in Georgia, JPMorgan Chase is filing lawsuits in Florida, New York and Texas, per CNBC, which cited an anonymous source.
The outlet added that the bank has sent letters demanding repayment to more than 1,000 customers since October.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a JPMorgan Chase representative said: “We’re still investigating cases of fraud and cooperating with law enforcement — and we’ll do that for as long as it takes to hold fraudsters accountable.”
True story: I once found $80 in cash on the floor of an elevator, and dutifully brought it straight to the building’s super, figuring someone had reported the loss. The super looked at me dumbfounded, like, “You’re not just keeping it cause you found it?” So even if I’d been hip to this “infinite money glitch,” I probably still wouldn’t have partaken, lol. Cause of course JPMorgan Chase is gonna come back for their money! That being said, a company with a market capitalization of $644.63 billion (as of this writing) going after $57,847.69, even if it’s one of several cases, does reek of Scrooge (Ebenezer or McDuck, take your pick). But Chase says they’re in it for the principle of the matter! Saying in October that “Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system.” I’m no economist or businesswoman, but mayhaps hiring more human employees at local branches could help? Either for more tellers or oversight on the technology of it all?
And finally, I need more details on this mask the Georgia defendant was wearing. The lawsuit clearly makes it out to be the classic bank robber trope, but could it possibly have been a good old KN95? Because otherwise, the guy was wearing a mask… while making transactions in his own account.
Photos credit: Jan van der Wolf on Pexels and Frugal Flyer on Unsplash
It wasn’t a glitch. It’s check kiting. How no one realized this would come back to bite them, I don’t know. Blah blah banks are greedy, yes, but anyone who participated deserves to be sued for stupidity. And where did they spend $73,000 in six days?!
IKR? This is a scam as old as time and it’s a one off out of desperation because you will be caught. I despise for profit banks and haven’t used one in decades, but this is not a robin hood story.
Do you belong to a credit union, then? I don’t really understand how they’re better but I’ve been feeling like I should look into joining one. I think I can join one of the military ones bc my dad served, or I think there is a federal employees credit union (but I might not join that one right now, just in case)
Credit Unions aren’t for profit so they tend to have fewer annoying fees. They also have an enormous ATM system with no fees. The Co-Op system is at most 7-11s and you can use any credit union nationwide for certain banking needs. Also, when I do go to my local branch, it just feels cozier and friendlier than a bank.
@manda, credit union membership is usually pretty easy to qualify for. The one I belong to is open to current or former public employees, people who live, work, or have worked in the county, whose friends or relatives belong, the list is practically endless. The nonprofit/cooperative angle does make a difference in how they do business – it’s like they don’t actually hate their members. Shocking.
We have used USAA for over 30 years because we move so much. Maybe they accept non-military now? There is also Navy Federal Credit Union. We had an auto loan through them. USAA reimburses all ATM fees. I didn’t even know there were start up fees for checking accounts or minimum deposit amounts for savings accounts?? That’s awful. Our credit card is tied to our checking account (and our kids debit) for accidental overdrafts. Maybe regular banks are the same but, I don’t know.
It really was a computer glitch. When you deposit a check at an ATM, banks generally allow a tiny withdrawal against the uncleared funds. The bank’s computer system stopped putting any limit on the uncleared funds. People apparently thought if the bank gave it to them, they got to keep it. So a bunch of people made fake deposits and then withdrew the (non-existent) uncleared funds before the fake deposits bounced. The bank and their lawyers went after everyone.
Stealing is stealing. And to think for some reason that the huge global conglomerate wouldn’t come after you because they have tons of money and it’s a small amount is pretty ahistorical. I left the financial industry about 10 years ago but I remember when this was happening last summer discussing it with my stylist and telling her these people were silly because they were doing this until their own accounts did they think that they weren’t going to be caught? That Chase was going to just let it slide? CHASE.
It’s like those people doing those PPP loan scams. I understand wealth inequality and unfair prioritization of prosecution but again you were still doing something wrong it’s silly to think that they aren’t going to come after you.
This was beyond stupid and anyone who committed check fraud deserves the financial ruin they earned. I hate corp America and banks are greedy immoral organization BUT stealing from a bank is still stealing. I’m just surprised that ppl actually thought they could get away with it (your info is on the check!!!). Dumb criminals
They should all be rounded up and arrested. I was going nuts when people posted this on TT with glee. Like they found the secret sauce.
It’s things like that push bank fees to the little people who don’t have a million dollars in checking and money market accounts (like me).
That don’t get the perks of free services. We have to pay for these idiots in the end. Not the big bank they still get their profits and big bonuses.
We tried to tell those dummies on social media that Chase was coming for them and to not do it
Do schools not teach financial literacy any more? Does that make me sound old? I can still hear the voice of my high school economics teacher in my head talking about the evils of overdraft fees, kiting, and only paying the minimum on your credit card balance. We even had a pretend stock portfolio that we checked every day in class. When kids got excited they made a little money (at least on paper), he had a fun lesson about brokerage fees and capital gains.
I get the allure of this scam… steal from the rich give to the poor. But after these past few years (trump) I feel we really need to respect law & order and the power of institutions or else it will all fall apart. 😞 I know, what have I become?
I have a friend who would do this back in the 90’s. She would do it for $20 and usually was able to deposit her paycheck before the $20 check cleared. But not always.
One time the ATM ate her debit card and she had to go into the bank. The bank manager came out from the back looking pissed, like he was ready to do battle with this check kiting thief, until he saw my friend. She’s model gorgeous. He got so flustered he was barely able to tell her that it was illegal and she could go to jail.
She never did it again. I think he still scared her straight with the threat of jail. She knew it was illegal but she didn’t think it was that serious since it was only $20 and was usually able to cover it. I laugh every time I think about it. The 90’s were wild.
I get that we’re all struggling financially these days, but one thing to learn quickly in this life; Banks do not play about their money! 💵