JPMorgan Chase, the American financial services giant, has initiated lawsuits against individuals who took advantage of the so-called system “glitch” that spread on social media this summer to withdraw large amounts of cash from the bank’s ATMs, allegedly involving check fraud.
According to reports from CNBC, on Monday, JPMorgan Chase filed lawsuits in at least three federal courts against some of the individuals who withdrew the highest amounts during the so-called “infinite money glitch” incident that went viral on platforms like TikTok in August.
The three lawsuits were filed in the federal district courts in Houston, Texas, Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, involving fraudulent amounts ranging in tens of thousands of dollars or more.
The man accused by JPMorgan Chase in Texas had the highest amount involved in the case. After an unidentified accomplice deposited a fake check of $335,000 into the bank’s ATM, this man withdrew a substantial amount of cash from the machine. JPMorgan Chase stated that the man owes the bank over $290,000.
In Texas, JPMorgan Chase stated in the documents submitted to the federal court in Houston that on August 29, 2024, a masked man deposited a check of $335,000 into the defendant’s account at the bank. After the check was deposited, the defendant began withdrawing most of the ill-gotten funds.
In the lawsuits filed in Miami and Los Angeles federal courts, individuals involved also owed significant amounts to JPMorgan Chase, ranging from approximately $80,000 to $141,000.
According to sources who declined to be named, in most cases being reviewed by JPMorgan Chase, the stolen amounts are much smaller than those involved in the mentioned cases.
The lawsuits state that JPMorgan Chase is seeking to recover the stolen funds as well as interest, overdraft fees, and attorney fees, and in some cases, punitive damages.
In late August, some users on the TikTok platform claimed to have discovered a method that allowed customers to withdraw large amounts of cash from JPMorgan Chase ATMs. The operation involved having someone write a large check to themselves, depositing it into the bank’s ATM, and then withdrawing the funds before the check was fully cleared. The result was fraudulently taking cash that did not belong to the withdrawer.
This scheme exploited a loophole in the banking industry’s standard, which allows check holders to access some funds before the full amount of the check is cleared. Videos circulating online showed people writing astonishingly large checks and withdrawing as much cash as possible before the checks bounced.
JPMorgan Chase stated that the company closed the loophole shortly after discovering it.
Sources informed CNBC that these lawsuits may just be the beginning of a wave of legal actions aimed at compelling the individuals involved to repay the funds and signaling that the bank will not tolerate fraudulent activities. JPMorgan Chase is prioritizing cases involving larger amounts and those showing signs of potential connections to criminal organizations.