JPMorgan Chase has initiated legal proceedings against several individuals the company says temporarily benefited from a check-cashing “glitch” earlier this year.
As you’ll recall, chatter was high in late August and early September after it was pointed out that high-dollar checks could be deposited via ATM, at which point the money from such checks, regardless if legit, was made accessible for withdrawal. This got the viral treatment on social media, particularly TikTok, with Chase reps warning at the time that intentionally utilizing this so-called “glitch” to gain access to nonexistent funds constituted “fraud, plain and simple.”
This week, per a report from CNBC, several lawsuits were filed in federal courts in multiple states, including one in Texas centered on a man who allegedly owes nearly $300,000 over a counterfeit check deposit. Sources cited in that report said that while potentially thousands of alleged fraud cases of this type were being looked into by the company, the focus in this first wave of lawsuits are those involving pricier deposits.
Footage that circulated at the peak of the Chase coverage claimed to show people lining up to take part in the ill-advised scheme, which isn’t the first of its kind in the modern age. When reached for comment on Tuesday, a Chase spokesperson confirmed the company was pursuing the newly reported lawsuits while also working with law enforcement.
“Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” the spokesperson said in an email. “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.”
