Chase Begins Suing Customers Allegedly Stolen By ATM Scam That Went Viral

JPMorgan Chase filed four lawsuits in federal courts Monday against customers who allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from the bank through an “unlimited money” trick after a vulnerability in its ATM system was discovered and went viral over the summer.

Videos that go viral social networks before Labor Day, the discovery of a glitch in the banking system would have allowed customers to get easy money, but it was actually a scam.

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Several accounts on TikTok and other platforms promoted a scheme in which Chase account holders had to write themselves a large check (often for tens of thousands of dollars), deposit it with a mobile device, then rush to an ATM and withdraw the funds before the check cleared.

Some videos purportedly show people celebrating their sudden wealth, while others show the aftermath of people allegedly finding their accounts frozen with huge negative balances.

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Chase is now suing to get the funds back.

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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 ATM account on August 24, and that once it was deposited, the account holder began withdrawing the vast majority of the funds. The check was then returned as a fake, leaving behind a “significant negative”. 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 for more than $50,000 each in late August and then withdrawing much of the funds before they returned.

(Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

The other two cases were filed in the Southern District of Florida against separate companies that allegedly participated in the scheme and owe Chase about $140,000 each.

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“Fraud is a crime that affects everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” said Chase spokesman Drew Pusateri. FOX Business in the application. “We are investigating these cases and actively working with law enforcement to ensure that if anyone commits fraud against Chase and its customers, they are held accountable.”