Mesa couple sues Chase Bank for failing to return over $48k 

And when these big banks get in to financial trouble, they run to the federal government to ask for a bailout, which they always get because "they are too big to fail."

The court should award the couple 100 folds of their money...

Moral of the story don’t ever deposit your money at Chase, use a local credit union

Only lawsuits will teach these big corporations that we are not going to take it. Good for this couple they’re not staying silence and brought it out to light. My prayers to them so they can get THEIR MONEY back. 🙏

I have had the extreme displeasure of working for both of these shitty banks/firms. As a compassionate person, my conscience made me QUIT both. I worked for them for years and NEVER OPENED ACCOUNTS WITH THEM AS AN EMPLOYEE. This is an everyday occurrence for those of us who are back office. I saw so many innocent accounts frozen over the years that it took a toll on me to see people not able to get payroll deposited, pay their employees as small businesses, SSI payments frozen, bounced checks, etc. And often people were not reimbursed for the mishaps. I saw the same people’s accounts being frozen numerous times. Accounts frozen over the weekends or long holiday weekends. It was heartbreaking. There are many reasons why freezing happens, but most often, it is a lack of organization on the firms part. People also need to familiarize themselves with the US Patriot Act. Banks you transaction monitoring software that are used to possibly detect fraud or money laundering, etc. Compliance or corporate security has the right to recommend freezing or closure but are not allowed to divulge why. Something called a SAR is then sent to the feds. But the biggest reason is the organizational chaos that consumes both of these banks! The different departments know nothing about what the other is doing. The staff at the branches get the brunt of the anger and frustration, but are really powerless to assist. Your accounts can be frozen for many reasons. That means no SSI, direct deposit, payroll for small businesses, etc. will be allowed to go in or out. I would suggest the following: 1. Taking your assets out these banks asap. 2. If you have a dedicated Financial Advisor, they could contribute to your accounts getting frozen by not being responsive to the info requested (but will tell you its back office fault). The lower the assets under management with a big bank, they care the less about your business. This customers assets are chump change to them 3. NEVER HAVE ALL YOUR MONEY IN ONE BANK!!!!!!!! I see this all the time. You need to have money in at least 3 institutions. This way if this occurs your funds are not tied to this one bank. We also see this happening when banks collapse as of late! If this happens to you and they then unfreeze, take your money immediately as it will most likely happen again. These banks have been fined by US regulators for billions of dollars but the problems are still pervasive. I do not trust what our government does with the banks anymore as they seem powerless to really invoke change. Hope this helps.

I had a nasty experience with chase Bank. I took all my money out and close the account after that. ME AND MY FAMILY ARE DONE WITH CHASE!

This just changed my mind on moving from my current bank to Chase!

Chase once froze my account without giving me any notice or explanation. I went to the branch in person and loudly refused to leave until I got an explanation. Turns out they had put my account into escheatment because "there was no activity for 6 months". WTF do you mean, no activity?? I get a direct deposit from my job every 2 weeks!!. 'Oh - deposits don't count as activity... only withdrawals do.", sez the genius behind the glass. As soon as the matter was resolved - I did indeed make a withdrawal. All of it. They are scum.

Every time Chase or any bank oversteps and ignores their fiduciary responsibility to their clients, they must be pursued PUBLICLY until the behavior is corrected, required to pay all expenses and losses to the client, and punished financially to underscore the lesson.

Chase froze our checking years ago because they said our direct deposit bounced. How does that happen and why froze the whole amount? But weeks later they admitted that it was an error on there part. But the stress made me swear never to bank with them ever. NEVER!

People do best with member-owned credit unions. The last time I had an account with a bank, they literally bled it dry with fees. Never again!

That's why you never put all your money in one bank!!!!!

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER deal with Chase bank!

This makes no sense. They can’t sieze your money with no explanation. Do they have a court order? Are they being sued? I’m about to do the old school thing and put my money under my mattress.

Why would anyone bank with Chase? This is like the 20th story, I've heard, about Chase, within the last year.

Never ever bank at the big banks: Chase, Wells Fargo ("a criminal enterprise masquerading as a bank" per Clark Howard lol), Citigroup, and Bank of America. Go with a local or smaller regional bank or credit union!

According to the latest news update, Chase Bank returned the $48K to the family in February 2023. No explanations were given. No apologies were reported, so I assume that none were given. If I had been the couple, the first agency I would have gone to would have been the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Loss of funds at an FDIC insured bank. I'm pretty sure that would have caught bank executives' attention.

How much bad publicity is Chase willing to endure without responding to questions or returning the money?

OMG the exact same thing happened to me/ Im in the process of suing them now

Best story for getting multiple bank accounts in different banks. Chase can freeze my account but at least I have access to my other accounts in different banks.

Ladies and gentlemen it's not only Chase. I think its a trial run for what is coming to the banking system

Stop banking at Chase. It's basically the Karen or HOA of banks now.

Every time Chase Bank sends me mail that says "get $300" for opening an account with us, I remember the many videos I've watched about their mishandling of fraud. I shred them and say "no thanks!" Thanks for sharing your story.

Some of these banks need to be shutdown or least regulated harshly. They literally stole from their own customers.

Account holders should very seriously consider withdrawing their money out of Chase bank. Outrageous! Glad this couple is sueing.

Helping the little guy. Good job news team!

Chase bank has been doing this across the states They did it to me as well There needs to be be a class action lawsuit against the pathetic giant!!

My mother had a Chase Brokerage Account with 100 shares of AT&T. When she passed away over a year ago we went to the bank to transfer the stock. Long story short they refused and told us to go to court to get the stock and we never recovered the shares.

I don't have any big banks accounts and moved many dollars over to CD accounts in Ecuador © 9%. This sounds like a IRS , Treasury or FBI freeze. If this couple has foreign accounts and they never reported to the Treasury department, this could happen also. I knew people that risked not reporting foreign accounts and it did not end well. Court is the way to go with this but if they lose, it will cost them a bunch more. They should have contacted the fraud branch to the the Treasury Department and wrote their congressman before hiring an attorney. I had a problem with 5k at the Navy Federal Credit Union some years ago. I wrote the CEO and the problem was solved within a few days and they gave me 300 bucks for my trouble. Chase Bank is run by the elite Mafia, I would stay away.

Several years ago, the day before Thanksgiving I went to the grocery store to buy all the celebration items, it raised an "Unusual transaction", luckily I have another debit card from another bank. When I went in to inquire about why my card was declined they said I don't normally spend that kind of money.....its the day BEFORE THANKSGIVING.. there wouldn't have been a Thanksgiving that year if it wasn't for that second account.

BofA is a worst! Incompetence and rude! Opened an online CD with deposited funds. AFter 1 wk, still could not log in. Called & transferred many times. No one knew. After 3 wks, one person finally found it. Bank's mistake-no explanation. Lately, opened a savings & the banker lied about things. Will close it.

To me it's not about a bank freezing your accounts. A. mistakes happen, B. software can red flag an account because of certain kinds of "behavior." Fine being careful keeps us all safe, but there should be a federal oversight policy that when a bank freezes your account, you are immediately contacted and scheduled for sit-down meeting, with not only the bank rep who must explain what happened, but and independent ombudsman and your attorney. From that meeting a full explanation for what occurred, a timeline of resolution or a referral where your case is passed on to a state or federal agency for resolution should the bank's hands be tied over federal banking rules and regulations.

Agree. Keep a years worth of CASH at home, several bank accounts at different banks.

After hearing this who wants to do business with this bank

This is why we do not need just a digital currency right here

We dumped ALL Chase accounts, dumped their mortgage and refied with another Bank when we lived in California. This same story happened to people we know in the 90's.

They’ve also done that to me twice. No reason. I never order checks so no check bounced. No overdraft protection so I was never negative on my account. No suspicious activity. Just closed my account. It also took 6 weeks to give me back my money in my account. Never again…

A friend l have (her friends) are going thru the same thing l think with another bank. It makes me SO angry that banks can do this. I hope this couple can get their funds soon.

Chase bank is probably the worst bank ever

The chase bank are criminals. Should be cleaned out and a bunch put in prison for very very long time. Thanks JA Joe

Nobody should have an account with Chase Bank.

That I'm a I'm a member of Chase Bank oh so that's what they do they give you all kinds of run around and you having a Chase account your savings account you want questions and answers and they don't know what's going on I just lost $1,000 on the 8th of March nobody knows what happened to my money so I'm going through the same thing these people are it's a shame

They also Stole money ditrectly from my account ny double charging things then they "adjust" the bank ledger to try and bury it. They stole $1560 doing this. I literally have the receipts.

When you complain this is how: When you get to speak to a person ask them for their name and employment number. Ask them who their immediate supervisor's name is, then ask to speak to them. Cont...Hold everybody accountable. Follow up with an email listing those names. Don't be rude, be real nice. No emotions whatsoever. Repeat back what they say. Record the conversation...tell them you are. Write their legal dept. Learn to format a letter, then send it.

Yup same is happening to my husband and I as we speak. We took money out of our 401k (we are retired) and they cashed the check but closed our savings account and are keeping the money. We are fighting it with everything we can but to no avail.

CHASE is AWFUL

They can recover 3times the amount owed in civil court small claims division. That's what I'm doing, The next step is to subpoena for the records and al judge will grant that. If I had stolen money from them I would be in prison right now. We need to expose them.!!!

Chase CEO needs jail time..................

They froze their accounts and then closed them without handing the couple cash or a cashier's check? Sounds like bank fraud by the bank. Or out right theft.

I just saw a YT video that was about 2 years old showing a lady that had the something happen to her with Chase Bank. A complaint needs to be filed with the state Attorney General's office.

I work in compliance and risk, sometimes there is more to the story than people think. Sometimes customers have subpoenas and we have to freeze accounts, sometimes customers are going through litigation and a judge signs for customers assets to be frozen.sometimes people falsify claims and a thorough investigation needs to take place and if it’s a large amount they won’t allow the funds to be accessed. And much more.

I almost opened an account with them due to non stop invitation to bank with them. Thank goodness I saw this and few other news about them. Nope not gonna bank with them.

Once I went to withdrawal $50,000 from BOA and the teller laughed and said they would have to “scrape the vault” and it was “not possible”. I was soooo irate. I asked for a manager and she finally helped me and ordered the cash. These banks are using OUR money against us. It’s not bizarre, it happens more often than normal.

They should contact the "Controller of the Currency and get a case number." I did some 10 years ago with another National Bank involving fraud at the bank and got it all back. Then I had to fight again to get the interest refunded when the bank opened up for an overcharge loan when the account was overdrawn.

This is disgusting that a bank can do that to you. Must be political

They've done this to me TWICE now!

Andre I totally understand I’m in the Philippines and have done similar. As you said you have to claim it as income which is required by the IRS. You have to be careful. Never have all your money in one place. Spread it around. I could say a lot but only by phone or in person.

Same thing happened to my sister! Except her accounts were 4 to 5 times that amount. She still hasn’t received her funds!

They're lucky they weren't arrested. I hope they win in court and Chase is lucky they aren't explicitly suing for more!

That's because the money's gone..theft, via someone who hacked the account, or an inside job at Chase declaring fraud in which the account appears frozen.

I have heard about other problems with Chase bank. Some people hate BoA - but I have been a customer for 20 years, and EVERY time I have a problem, or a dispute - they refund my money IMMEDIATELY, and research the problem. I have never had to give money back for bogus purchases. The telephone operators are professional, understanding, and even understand your anger. They're very good!

It's called felony theft. File criminal charges on whoever put a hold on their money.

Chase did the same thing to me. It wasn’t nearly that much money but it still hurt me. It’s because I tried to deposit a personal check from my father in law.

I think government regulators need to get involved. Chase has been involved in a lot of scams lately.

That's why I request paper statements from my bank mailed to me monthly.

I closed my Chase acct, Chase is the new wells Fargo. If you look online, there's so many issues with Chase now. Glad they're getting sued, I'm looking forward to see how this gets resolved and they win. I REALLY hope they don't settle, it's the only way these banks will learn. Damn shame cause Chase used to be a legitimate bank we could count on.

Guaranteed it's BSA BS. There's been many situations where we've closed accounts but can't give any indication of why, because it's something to do with ofac. The worst part is, even the employees don't get an explanation as to why those accounts are flagged. So the front line looks even more dumb in front of the clients. Half the times there's no rhyme or reason when the account is not in good standing.

Thanks for continuing updates I'd rather trade the stock market as it's more profitable. I make an average of $34,500 per week even though I barely trade myself.

The same thing is happening now with my account. I went into the bank and the lady behind the counter was very helpful then gave me a number to call in 24-48 hours for my money to be released. I called the number which was handled by people in India and they refused to release my money. It's been two weeks now and I don't know how to proceed.

Why aren't these criminal banks being charged criminally???

Why is chase bank always holding peoples money

I'm pretty sure there was internal theft, Chase is trying to figure out what's going on without letting people know the banks confusion. They'll get their $$$ back at some point.

I hate Chase and Bank of America

You think a judge will help them? Chances are 80 % or more they won’t have an honest one. None the less. You gotta sue asap.

Chase put me on their "blacklist" years ago when i was younger. Ive been noticing a lot of abuses by chase hitting the news ALOT. I think ill stay on that list forever.

Strange, my account rose by $48,000 for no reason

It's probably someone from their bank scamming people

as soon as you said Chase Bank, and that was enough, they won't even tell ya why they seized it. boycott of that bank

This is why I have accounts at 3 credit union/bank because the law make it impossible and long process if your money is ever seize. I have no way near their amount of money but I like to stay on the safe side just in case. Even if they return the money, the time and money you d spend on the lawyers will add up.

Sue them if they refuse to release your money. Can't withhold without reasons. It's their money, Chase!

Everyone call chase bank and ask about why they are doing that to this couple

I learned my lesson about this bank years ago. I'm glad mine wasn't as expensive as these folks.

Sue Chase for fraud, mishandling clients money and information, and theft.

Does any body know if this family ever got their money back ?????

Prayers for these people...

I recently opened an account with Chase Bank. I have another account at a federal credit union where I work (as a federal employee) I’ve heard so much negative things about Chase over the last few years. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some disgruntled individual blew their local bank up.

This shows how important it is to keep updated statements. I’m sure when the accounts were closed, online access to their accounts was cut off as well.

Maybe Chase thought they were given a Christmas present of 48G's

Just a little research will show that Chase is doing this frequently to longtime account holders.

A similar situation happened to one of my relatives. It was painful and stressful having to go through that situation. They were holding the money as though they had a right to, and there was no explanation whatsoever they were told if they didn’t release that money immediately we were going to put them on blast, the money was available in one day.

I've heard of chase emptying your account and refusing to give you your money back unless you can producing a paper statement proving what you own.

Seizure actions like this are usually are homeland security and DEA enforcement - I am not saying those people did anything wrong, but someone else could have placed money in those accounts fraudulently and its seized until that case is resolved.

Yes it happened to me 3 years ago with chase. I have money for a down payment for a house and when I tried to get my money, chase freeze my account for no reason. Got my money back in a nick of time for closing. What a nightmare.Never will I bank with them.

They did the same thing to me 10 years ago. No explanation, just accounts closed.

How do they only have $48,000 in the bank with a house like that?

As a former (now retired) banker, I would posit that the couple is suspected of money laundering, and that's why the bank froze their account and will not share any information with them or the press. They may well be innocent, but until the bank is assured that they have not engaged in potentially criminal activity, they will not have use of those funds. The penalties for non-compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act are severe, and I doubt Chase will resolve this matter any time soon.

Don’t worry. Your money is federally insured. Sue and threaten damages.

I hope not only Do they get their money back and all expenses, but every down the road which hopefully would be three times what they’re going for.

Move your money to credit unions. Banks cannot longer be trusted

Take Out Your Cash. Big Banks are not SAFE.