JPMorgan Chase filed four lawsuits in federal courts on Monday against customers who allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from the bank in an “unlimited money” stunt after a vulnerability in its ATM system was exposed and went viral over the summer.
Videos circulating on social media before Labor Day exposing a glitch in the bank’s system would allow customers some easy money, but in reality, it was fraud.
Several accounts on TikTok and other platforms touted the scheme that instructed Chase account holders to write themselves a large check (often in the tens of thousands of dollars), deposit it using a mobile device and then rush to the ATM and withdraw the funds before the check was cleared.
Some videos allegedly showed individuals celebrating their sudden riches, and others showed the aftermath of people purportedly finding their accounts frozen with massive negative balances.
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Now, Chase is suing to get the funds returned.
In one complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas, Chase alleges that a masked man deposited a $335,000 check into the defendant’s account at an ATM on Aug. 24, and once it was deposited, the account holder began withdrawing the vast majority of the funds. Then the check was returned as counterfeit, leaving behind a “substantial negative balance.” Chase says the defendant still owes the bank $290,939.47.
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A second case was filed in the Central District of California against a defendant who allegedly owes Chase $90,794.02 after depositing two separate checks in late August for more than $50,000 each and then withdrawing a substantial portion of the funds before they bounced.
The other two cases were filed in the Southern District of Florida against separate businesses that allegedly took part in the scheme and owe Chase around $140,000 each.
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“Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” Chase spokesperson Drew Pusateri told FOX Business in a statement. “We’re pursuing these cases and actively cooperating with law enforcement to make sure if someone is committing fraud against Chase and its customers, they’re held accountable.”
