It’s been nearly three years since a Skokie man had his Citibank account emptied by scammers. The complaint alleges that $121,000 held in a trust account belonging to his disabled sister was fraudulently transferred from his account within days. He said Citibank told them there was nothing they could do.
Now, a new lawsuit against Citibank out of New York is giving some fraud victims, including Scott Jacobson, new hope.
Since 2019, Jacobson has been a caretaker for her younger sister, Laurie.
Laurie, 65, has advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Her medical expenses are paid for from a Citibank trust account that Jacob and her parents opened before she died.
“We have never touched [Laurie’s] No account at all. Never. Until October 14th [2021]when everything happened,” Jacobson said last October, recounting the events leading up to the misconduct in his first report in November.
Jacobson said he happened to check the balance in his trust account while visiting an ATM in early October 2021. That’s when he saw $121,000 in Lowry’s trust account disappear, depleted by three fraudulent wire transfers to Thailand, he said. He immediately reported the fraud, but he said Citibank told him there was nothing it could do.
“I had a personal banker, and I went in there, and I asked him about all this, and he said, ‘Well, you’re going to need to get a lawyer,'” Jacobson said. said.
“Not only were they not interested in getting Scott’s money back, they weren’t interested in investigating to make sure it never happened again,” said Jacobson’s lawyer, James Bonebrake. Stated.
Mr. Jacobson, Mr. Bonebrake and Noel Elfant have been battling Citibank in court for years, alleging that Citibank did not obtain the necessary approvals from Mr. Jacobson to make international wire transfers.
“Banks are required by law to notify.” [you] Before the transfer goes back and forth, [to say]“Dear consumer, this is the tax you will pay, the international tax.” The arbitrator found that there was no evidence that: [Citibank] That’s what we did in this case,” Bonebrake said.
As the case dragged on, Jacobson struggled to come up with the money to care for her sister.
“We lost our home and it cost us a lot of money in lawyers,” Jacobson said.
This year, Jacobson finally has a powerful ally in his battle.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in January that Citibank’s “lax security procedures” had resulted in “scammers” stealing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from “New York consumers” who, like Mr. Jacobson, were victims of wire fraud. He filed a lawsuit against Citibank, claiming that he had allowed him to steal $10,000.
And like Mr. Jacobson’s lawsuit, this lawsuit accuses Citibank of:
- “Failure to protect victims of fraud and refuse compensation”
- Not implementing “strong online protections” to stop fraud
- Misleading “What are the rights of account owners after their account is hacked?”
Earlier this month, Citibank asked a federal judge to dismiss the attorney general’s lawsuit as “misguided,” adding that it was “taking strong steps” to combat fraud.
A judge has not yet ruled on the claim.
“My reaction is, this must be happening everywhere, and … we need to do something about this,” Jacobson said.
A turning point suddenly occurred in Jacobson’s case last week.
The arbitrator found that Citibank had not followed its own policies and ruled in favor of Mr. Jacobson. Online funds transfer agreement Protocol due to not obtaining approval from Jacobson prior to approving international wire transfers. It ignored its own internal fraud alert that was triggered after the first fraudulent wire transfer was made on Jacobson’s account. We approved his last two wire transfers the day after Mr. Jacobson notified us of the fraud..
“We received the full amount of that money, $121,005, plus nearly $20,000 in interest, because he had been deprived of that money for two years,” the judge said in a statement that also awarded attorney’s fees. said Bonebrake. Citibank and many banks and many companies believe they can win…just crush the other guy. I believe Scott had the wherewithal and courage and courage to do this. ”
His ordeal is now over. Jacobson urges those who have lost their hard-earned money to bank fraud to be persistent.
“I say keep trying, keep trying, do what you have to do to get your money back, don’t quit, don’t give up,” Jacobson said.
Citibank declined to comment on Mr. Jacobson’s case, but a Citibank spokesperson said in a statement: “Citi strictly adheres to all laws and regulations related to wire transfers and prevents threats affecting our customers. “We are working very hard to help them recover their losses should the worst happen.” We have taken proactive steps to protect our clients’ accounts using state-of-the-art security protocols, intuitive fraud prevention tools, the latest fraud insights, and client awareness and education. As a result, our clients’ losses from wire fraud have been significantly reduced. We are committed to investing in fraud protection to help our clients protect their accounts from emerging threats. ”
