- JPMorgan Chase is continuing to pursue legal action against customers who allegedly took advantage of an “infinite money glitch” as a result of ATM technical malfunctions last year. The bank has filed five new lawsuits on the state level after winning four federal suits filed last October. Chase recouped about $580,000 of the $660,000 it sought out in the original batch of litigation.
JPMorgan Chase is continuing efforts to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars lost after an ATM “glitch” went viral, leading customers to steal funds from the bank during the malfunction.
JPMorgan is pursuing legal action on the state level, suing customers who allegedly stole $75,000 or less from the company, CNBC first reported. Last October, the bank filed four federal lawsuits, and, as of Monday, has won them all, recouping about $580,000 of the $660,000 it sought out, with dollar amounts not finalized for all cases.
Last August, social-media users uploaded videos explaining a “glitch” stemming from ATM malfunctions, which would allow Chase bank customers to write a fake check, deposit it into an ATM, and withdraw cash over the course of a week when some of the deposited funds become immediately available, but before the check bounces. The practice, known as check-kiting, is illegal.
According to a Tuesday court filing in Gwinnett County, Georgia, seen by CNBC, one “masked man” deposited a $73,000 check in the defendant’s Chase bank account. Per the lawsuit, the check bounced six days later, but not before the defendant made a series of cash withdrawals worth $82,000. The defendant allegedly owes Chase nearly $58,000 and has not complied with requests to return the cash.
JPMorgan has filed five total lawsuits on the state level: one each in New York, Florida, Georgia, and two in Texas, the company confirmed to Fortune. Since October, when JPMorgan first pursued litigation on the issue, the company has sent out more than 1,000 letters to customers asking them to repay the funds.
“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,” JPMorgan Chase spokesperson Drew Pusateri told Fortune in a statement.
Consequences of taking ‘free money’
Chase’s ATM woes aren’t unique. In August 2023, Bank of Ireland customers took advantage of an ATM glitch that allowed them to pull large sums of money from their accounts and transfer up to €1,000 (~$1,090) to other accounts, even if the funds were more than what was available in their accounts, leading them to mistakenly think they were getting “free money.”
The bank warned customers they would be liable for the money they withdrew and should return the cash, should they not be prepared to have the money debited from their accounts.
JPMorgan has been clear in its views on schemes such as the one some took advantage of last year.
“Chase takes its responsibility to combat fraud seriously and prioritizes protecting the firm and its customers to make the banking system safer,” the bank said in an October court filing. “Part of that responsibility is to hold people accountable when they commit fraud against Chase and its customers. Simply put, engaging in bank fraud is a crime.”
While legal consequences for check fraud vary by state and the amount of money taken, repercussions can be steep. In New York, it can result in up to 25 years in prison, Adam H. Rosenblum, an attorney and founder of Rosenblum Law, told Fortune in September. Individuals can avoid steep punishment if they took out smaller sums of money, and if they return the funds and work with an attorney.
“Very often, these consequences can be mitigated and minimized if things are handled in the right way,” he said.
