JPMorgan Chase Sues Users Who Withdrew Thousands Due to ATM Glitch
JPMorgan Chase & Co, the American multinational financial conglomerate, has begun taking legal action against users who withdrew thousands of dollars from the bank’s ATMs due to a technical glitch. This past summer, information about a fraudulent method for withdrawing money using fake checks went viral on social media.
The so-called “infinite money glitch” was widely shared on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, and many people in the United States took advantage of these technical issues in the bank’s systems. The discovered bug allowed users to deposit fake checks and then withdraw large amounts of cash from ATMs before the fraudulent checks were rejected.
According to The Register, representatives from one of the world’s largest banks did not answer questions about how many such fraudulent deposits were made or the total amount stolen, which the company is now trying to recover. However, JPMorgan Chase & Co confirmed that they have filed four lawsuits in Texas, Florida, and California.
“Fraud is a crime that affects everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” a Chase spokesperson told reporters. “We investigate such cases and actively cooperate with law enforcement to ensure that anyone who commits fraud against Chase and its customers is held accountable.”
One of the lawsuits involves Houston resident Timipah Ikemi, who now owes the bank $290,939.47 after an unknown accomplice deposited a fake check into his account.
“On August 29, 2024, a masked individual deposited a check for $335,000 into the defendant’s Chase bank account,” CNBC reports. “After that, the defendant withdrew most of the illegally obtained funds from an ATM.”
Another lawsuit was filed against Micah Reed, a resident of California. Two more lawsuits were filed in Florida: in one case, the alleged fraudsters are named as In and Out Appliances LLC, and in the other, Riskboss Musiq LLC. According to CNBC, in these three cases, the amounts in question range from $80,000 to $141,000, which the bank is now seeking to recover.