Wire fraud victim wins LAWSUIT against Citibank over drained trust account
It’s been almost three years since a Skokie man had his Citibank account emptied by scammers. Now, a new lawsuit against Citibank out of New York is giving some fraud victims, including Scott Jacobson, fresh hope. NBC 5 Responds PJ Randhawa reports.
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The banks shift the burden to the consumer, but Scott did absolutely nothing wrong.
@jgesselberty
Ай бұрын
Anytime there has been some error in an account, they always send you paperwork to fill out to correct it. I call and tell them, YOU MADE THE MISTAKE; YOU FIX IT. Me filling out a form is just to say that it was my mistake and let you off the hook.
@Rhaspun
Ай бұрын
@@jgesselberty Then the bank avoids getting a fine from the government. Citibank since 2000 had paid out $26,945,611,792.00 in fines. All the big banks have paid out substantial fines since 2000.
@Tortilla.Reform
Ай бұрын
Good thing New York Attorney General Leticia James stepped in and helped his case
@AaaaNinja
Ай бұрын
I know right? Their statement says "Client awareness and education" has nothing to do with the case featured in this piece the guy did everything right.
@jjjones8609
Ай бұрын
Notice the bank didn’t say we didn’t notify him about the fees and transfers-how is citi being lawful as they claim in their PR statement?
His nightmare isn't over if citi bank didn't reimburse him for the loss of his house.
@gravethebeyond
Ай бұрын
Damn right.
@TrishBenedict
Ай бұрын
And I wondered if he was on the hook for the attorneys fees or if that was part of the judgment against Citibank
@im-gi2pg
Ай бұрын
@@jonathananderson5788he should get millions in my opinion.
@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403
Ай бұрын
And the attorney's fees. Edit: I see this was already asked.
@user-qe2nd1xm8w
Ай бұрын
Or pay for his attorney's fees
Somebody inside Citibank was involved.
@texgowing7359
Ай бұрын
I am thinking exactly the same thing👍. I live in Cambodia & I would ask why Thailand?? There are thousands of barrangs live in Thailand are permanent residents. Where's the connection within the bank, there will be one for sure, they simply need to look
@brendanalexcurran3429
Ай бұрын
Exactly! I didn’t even think of this, how in the hell would anyone from Thailand would get his info? Im sure this isn’t the first time either.
@susanrand512
Ай бұрын
I agree with you 💯. Who else would know how to go around protocols
@pappadudat
Ай бұрын
Don't think so, they would fire and throw whoever under the bus. Citi bank is trash
@pzyyyy
Ай бұрын
100% inside job. If you ever use citi and call their support it’s always people in Thailand or Philippines. Stay away from this bank at all costs.
They need to pay his legal fees too! 🤬
@deborahblackvideoediting8697
Ай бұрын
Agreed! Plus, I believe they should put out the money to replace the home they lost, and additional funds for the years of extreme stress he experienced due to their negligence.
@maskdwn4445
Ай бұрын
And pay his lawyer as well, because it was their falut
It's time to ARREST bank execs to hold them accountable for predatory and inept business practices!
@irwinsaltzman979
Ай бұрын
You have a good take. If the police showed up at the President of Citis house at 6 in the morning and took him in for arraignment that will get his attention.
@COMPUTER.SCIENCE.
Ай бұрын
Or, just don't use their services, keep and protect your own cash! 🤷♂️
@irwinsaltzman979
Ай бұрын
Computer science . Banks have a legal duty to safely hold your money while paying you interest. When they allow others to steal it , they should be held accountable. A person should not feel they need to keep their money under a mattress. Not much different when leaving your vehicle overnight at a repair shop. If it is stolen while in the shop , the owner of the shop needs to reimburse you.
I have great sympathy for him and he lost his home taking care of his disabled sister. This is so Wrong.
@nitajean9885
Ай бұрын
They never told us that *Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness* was all pursuit with maybe a little happy life of liberty here and there.
Ex-CITI VP, Helen Grace Caldwell, of the Michigan Ave branch was recently charged with bilking elders for $1.5 millions and sentenced to 30 months in prison. I know where I'm not putting my money...
@sandyrose2398
Ай бұрын
There are other banks doing the same thing.
@j.pejoro4909
Ай бұрын
30 months prison time isn’t enoungh considering the grave damage to customers.
@JohnBrown-ff6ez
Ай бұрын
*#METOO*
@julierogers1155
Ай бұрын
Thank you for bringing our attention to this one too.
@ginab6142
Ай бұрын
@@j.pejoro4909 Career criminals targeted my elderly parents, stole $$ and set their house on fire and they got less than 30 months . . . . so 🤷♀ The whole system is f'd up.
How the heck does a wire transfer take place without the account holder enabling it??? Inside Job? Worker who knew her logon somehow??? Just dangerous for all concerned. The Bank should help its customers with more fervor.
@garotadagavea
Ай бұрын
Inside job.
@HummaKavula-DontVoteForStupid
Ай бұрын
You’ll be surprised how sophisticated online hacking is these days. It’s frightening and disturbing
@d.r.robinson9599
Ай бұрын
EXACTLY....what I was thinking...HOW?
@ewenchan1239
Ай бұрын
"The Bank should help its customers with more fervor." Banks are in business for ONE reason and ONE reason only: to make money. They don't give a shit about you nor anybody else for that matter and they most certainly don't give a shit as to HOW they make their money.
@fabianmckenna8197
Ай бұрын
It would have to be an amazing hack to convince a bank to empty a trust fund. These are not your standard savings or cheque accounts and are supposed to be bulletproof, allowing only limited access as stated in the terms.
Gotta love the Citibank response. ‘We closely follow all laws’…..the first thing they do is lie in their statement. They were just found and it was proven, they did NOT follow all laws, which requires them to perform certain actions and also they are required by law to adhere to the agreement/contract with the customer. They didn’t, and arrogantly so. Citibank is scum and if you have any kind of account with them you should close it immediately. If you don’t, your loss will be your fault and you will end up fighting them to the ends of the earth to get your money back.
@michaeln.2383
Ай бұрын
Citi's got to be the worst. There's a callousness that makes them stand out.
@CC-cp5uf
Ай бұрын
@@michaeln.2383it appears Chase is second.
@xlerb2286
Ай бұрын
Nope, no Citibank accounts here. Nor any Wells Fargo accounts, nor any Bank of America accounts. We deal with a rock solid local credit union that uses a smaller regional bank, also rock solid, for their backing accounts. There are no guarantees, but that's about as safe as you can get outside of stuffing the money in a mattress which has bigger problems.
@michaeln.2383
Ай бұрын
@@CC-cp5uf I was considering them for second.
@Rantsack
Ай бұрын
We all know they copied and paste that from their terms and conditions, then send it to the News. If you read it, it’s EXACTLY WORD BY WORD.
Any chance for punitive damages & getting compensated for the lost home? All these victims deserve so much more than the bare minimum!
@RD9_Designs
Ай бұрын
Not to mention the lawyers fees!
I am very glad to see Citibank lose this lawsuit they have done so many people wrong. Glad to see them finally be held accountable for their criminal acts.
@newmankidman5763
Ай бұрын
Most Banks in the World do customers wrong.
They should pay his attorneys fees too
@KlaudiaShaefferr
Ай бұрын
I’m sure the judge included that in the court decision
It's in their bank for protection. THEY are accountable when something happens to it. PERIOD!
The judgement should have been more.
@willieverusethis
Ай бұрын
Yes, did Citi have to pay for his attorney? I sure hope so.
@beverlyweber171
28 күн бұрын
at least he was awarded interest. I wish it was attorney fees also
"grind down the other side" is absolutely their tactic. Thank you for pushing through and sharing your story. I'm sorry you had to go through that and your sister lost her home in the process.
I think they should have to pay damages for all the heartache this man went through.
Why would a case about a bank not following it's own consumer notification requirements even require more than one day before a judge? It should be a summary judgement. America, what a great nation to be a rich corrupt bank.
@xXxpowerbagxXx
Ай бұрын
yeah its fucked. The bank has such strong lawyers.
@pinchebruha405
Ай бұрын
So many cases that are cut and dry yet dragged on for lawyers fees. This is not equal justice under the law because it requires money to fight. The little person dosent stand a chance against corporate lawyers!
I'm a victim to an online scam this past week. I just wish I could get my lost funds. Would you know any professionals I can speak to about this? Any help would be much appreciated.
@Chaim127
26 күн бұрын
My husband and I was scammed twice last year, totaling losses over $550k. It was a lengthy process involving federal intervention to get our money back. We need more people like Retrievebackteam taking a stand against these criminals. Much love and support from California
@DrealOtis00
26 күн бұрын
@@Chaim127 I got scammed out of my retirement money but I was new to it. thanks for sharing, was easy to find them after i searched the name
@DrealOtis00
26 күн бұрын
I got scammed out of my retirement money but I was new to it. thanks for sharing, was easy to find them after i searched the name
@dspethschneider
26 күн бұрын
Thanks for the Info. Got scammed this past week out of 2.25 Bitcoin
@Edgardo477
26 күн бұрын
Sorry about that, just don't understand how so many human beings can be so heartless to people like that
Citibank should have been required to cover Scott's lawyer's fees as well as the loss of their house.
@johnanon658
15 күн бұрын
And for all the time and stress etc
I'm glad he won. The messed up part is....losing their HOME!!!! The bank thought they could get away with this.
@johnanon658
15 күн бұрын
Won, sort of
He lost his home? Oh my God. He’s such a good brother to take good care of him sister. Bless him.
Good! He should get even more for the extreme stress Citibank caused him & damages for the loss of his home & dragging this through the courts. There should be no question that banks & big corporations are held accountable to their customers & clients.
Absolutely evil. What’s the point of having your money in a bank? And where are regulators?
This is what punitive damages are for. Not to reward victims but to punish the big guys from abusing the legal system. They knew they were wrong but made a business decision thinking it would be cheaper to drag it for long and make the little guy give up.
Before watching the video, I thought this was one of those cases where people send money to scammers and then blame the bank for not getting it back. I'm so glad it wasn't. I'm also glad this guy was persistent.
It’s things like this that are why I will NEVER bank with Shitibank. This happens all over the country to customers of this bank. I want no part of it.
120k? Wow!! They can't charge the recipient of that transfer?
@billshull9468
Ай бұрын
It's an overseas scammer
@Denvermorgan2000
Ай бұрын
There is no way to recall that money once it leaves the country.
@Gaby-N-Miklo
Ай бұрын
@@Denvermorgan2000 they can't find out who the recipient is?
@Denvermorgan2000
Ай бұрын
@Gaby-N-Miklo it might be possible to find out but it's usually split up after it leaves the country into crypto accounts that are nearly impossible to track and the foreign governments may not be willing to help.
@ontheroad5555
Ай бұрын
@@Denvermorgan2000 shouldn't they have a system in place to contact the person who is making the transfer? According to the video the law requires Citibank to inform the person transferring the money about the money of foreign taxes need to be paid. They never enforced that. No bank should just allow that much money to be wired without first contacting the person on the account to verify.
Glad to see Corporate take a slap and have to reimburse the little guy. Doesn’t happen nearly often enough!
Question is how the scammer get the bank account information? This is a reason not to have all your money in one bank account.
@saber6a
Ай бұрын
and dont link bank accounts to any outside sources.... I've been screwed so many times by paypal and cashapp and the other pay systems... its not even worth keeping your money in a bank anymore crap savings percentages. lots of hidden fees
@GerhardMack
Ай бұрын
There are many ways. For instance if you write a cheque , all of your account information is at the bottom.
@randomstuff-qu7sh
Ай бұрын
Social engineering and data breaches are common ways to get the information. Stealing mail is a possibility, as is an inside job… although I’d think the odds of a crooked insider getting caught should be fairly high.
@ManZoneYT
26 күн бұрын
Look at 2:24 in Citibank's response, the reason the scammers have his information is he fell prey to a phishing attack. He provided the access to his account to the scammers and that's how they were able to wire out successfully.
@GerhardMack
25 күн бұрын
@@ManZoneYTGood catch. However the bank could have locked out his credentials after the first complaint.
Check the bank employees!
"We have established robust countermeasures..." Yeah, like anyone would ever believe a word a BANK says? Especially this one.
What did he pay in legal fees?
I only keep 6 months of living expenses in a high yield savings account, and 3 months in a checking account. Everything else is layered in multiple CDs. Never keep too much money in bank accounts.
@fatima-zahrakajji4821
Ай бұрын
What does CD mean?
@tueluu3056
Ай бұрын
@@fatima-zahrakajji4821certified deposit. Basically you put the money there with 5 ish percent of return but you can’t take it out before the promised timeline. Either 6 months-9 months- 12 or 15 months
@trailertrish2587
10 күн бұрын
Certificate of Deposit
It's appalling how easily the banks will take your money but when they're at the root of the problem for why your money goes missing. They all of a sudden have a very hands-off approach.
My best buy card was through Citibank and was hacked and Citibank couldn't care less...hope they get their pants sued off.
They should be charged with fraud and had to pay millions.
It makes you wonder if the bank is in on the fraud. Mind blowing incompetence.
Good reporting here, how on earth did this even start in the first place?? Inside job?????
Everyone should get away from a Citibank bank account. My ex wife had $50,000 taken out of her account before she died. Her brother was executor of her estate and was still trying to get the money out of that bank that was stolen. Her case was a little different in that the bank said they have a recording of her saying "yes" that allowed the bank transfer to go through to a dummy account in Michigan. I have no idea if my ex brother in law got that money back for her estate. He's not the type to put up much of a fight. Besides it wasn't his money. That's the way he feels. I just hope that in the case of this guy that the bank was made to pay all legal fees as well and reimburse the family for the house they had to sell. He shouldn't have experienced any loss in his sister's account or for the loss of that house.
Make a mistake and they charge you. They make a mistake and want to walk away. What a bank pays in interest is far less than what a borrower pays for a loan. Guess policy and procedure is not worth the ink it's printed on. Fascinating, and fortunate that they recovered theirs...
Did the bank pay his attorney’s fees? The bank should be on the hook for all of it. This is outrageous.
I love it when the story ends with a statement from the company that is basically saying we are guilty through denial.
@Handle1969
Ай бұрын
Yup. Didn’t even read your comment before I posted mine.
3 years of stress, lawyer fees, home loss, ++. He ought to sue for more. Billionaire Citibank..I'll never bank there.
When the other side hires an attorney named Bonebrake, you'll probably wanna settle.
Beware the billionaire criminal class
Citibank: "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do." Him: "You aren't sorry but you will be. I'll show you that you can actually do more than you believe 😊".
Boycott City Bank !!!
@wilcee238
Ай бұрын
You mean divest? That’s not the only place people need to divest from.
The moral of the story, don't do business with Citi Bank!
This is why you dont keep money in banks. Use credit unions.
@KlaudiaShaefferr
Ай бұрын
Interesting
@drmontano9414
Ай бұрын
#NumericaCU credit union lied to me that it was closed that nothing could be done when the other bank said dispute is open.
This report makes me never want to use Citibank. This is a horrible situation and I feel for everyone who has been caught up in a similar situation smh
Big Money Got No Soul - NEP
He lost his house, years of stress gained and now lost a big percentage of his law suit. So sad.
The bank should pay punitive damages + attorney cost.
Someone in that bank had something to do with this fraud. He notified them when the first transfer took place and the6 allowed two more. This poor man lost his home over this and he should be compensated for that loss as well in addition to mental suffering.
Lawsuits are the only one to fight banks !
Our courts need revamped to where you should have to pay attorneys to get your day in court.
Banks are NOT your friend. Thank you Leticia James for protecting bank customers in NY.
The 2 wire transfers Shiti bank made AFTER they were notified about the fraud is inexcusable!!! Clearly they are guilty of wrong doing and deserve to pay up!
Good for you Mr. Jacobson. Congratulations on your win. I'm sorry it couldn't be resolved before your sister lost her home.
3:54 "...and works extremely hard to prevent threats..." They didn't do ANY work before or after the incident.
Typical bank defense strategy , "you'll have to get an attorney" . Pure brinkmanship , they're confident you'll fold first as they have deeper pockets to pay lawyers out of. They sent two more wire transfers after he had notified them of the fraud ! Making them worse than incompetent, they're practically accessories to the crime. Punitive damages should attach to all of these cases , draconian damages that are reflected in the annual dividend to shareholders are the only way to enforce due diligence on banks .
Unbelievable - nice job Citibank --- 🤯‼️
All of these banks need to be held accountable! It’s not just happening with this bank it’s happening with all of the banks.
That bank should have been sued for millions!
Wow Citibank, good effort on the buzzword bingo in your statement saying you follow the laws. I just about filled in my bingo card. You left out synergisticly though. But stripping down what you said I heard: "we don't let as many people get defrauded out of their money as we used to.
Big win. This is positive. All the last negative doesn’t change past. This is a good step. 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Citibank's new slogan should read: "And, It's Gone....It's All Gone."
This is the same issue with their credit Cards as well. My card was used in london and Australia, places I never visited until today. Luckily I noticed the charges immediately from my sms alerts and had them reversed as those charges have not been settled yet.
Citi bank took a master class in how to Lie and steal from trumpet lol.
Their statement should read: After failing to follow our own rules and deceptively hiding our responsibility for the theft and allowing our customers to be victims to thieves.....We regret that we were caught and made to payback all those victims we abandoned. We take security seriously, lol, and plan to do better next time.
God bless you, Scott! Your sister is so blessed to have a brother like you ♥️♥️🙏🏿🙏❤️❤️
Thank you Mr. Scott for your pursuit of this.
Banks and other financial institutions have become used to not being held accountable.
Scott deserves way more than that. The money for the house he lost as well as his time fighting this and his attorney fees!!!!!!
@yolyprog2561
15 күн бұрын
Ikr
Every bank customer should be assigned a code # and if the bank calls you and they dont have that code, then disconnect the call!! These banks need to step up their game
We know from the report that Citi Bank's response was a lie.
I’m just surprised that the bank had the nerve to fight this in court. How can any major bank have a case against an obvious fraudulent debit that happened without the customer’s consent
She called it old timers. Its Alzheimer's Jesus Christ 😂😂
They don’t call it “ShityBank” for no reason…
Excellent! This has happened to so many people and I hope now they can get restitution.
Giving him his money back is not enough! Citibank must be punished with great severity! I hope he goes after them for punitive damages and collects millions!
And, they lost their house due to this fraud? Oooh! If those damages aren’t part of this case, then there’s a civil lawsuit on this one’s heels.
Will any of this have any bearing on PNC suit in Pennsylvania? (That one was allowed to proceed to discovery).
Thank you for reporting this. It's enlightening to learn what a fantastic job Attorney General James' administration is doing.
Fun Fact: most state and federal laws for financial malfeasance on the part of banks, savings and loans, and public Trust companies is seven years. I didn't find out monies were taken out of my parents account until 20 plus years later, after dad had passed. The Trust had never got mom's name on the account as a signature, even though the statements each month were in both parents names. The origin bank my parents had dealt with for decades, San Gabriel Valley Bank, would NOT have made a mistake like that. It's on the Trust Duarte, but there's nada I can do. Involved?? 700 GRAND.
This is shocking.. ok never putting my money with Citi !
We bailed out Citi. We bailed out Schwab. Why do we keep bailing out these failed banking institutions....
They’re not concerned because the money is insured. They can’t do it because the money went outside of US jurisdiction.
Thats great news. City bank is known for not protecting their customers. This happens all the time particularly with Citibank. They constantly tell the customer that nothing can be done without even trying to help them.
I have Citibank credit card account as well as banking accounts. There were a numbers of fraudulent charges throughout me being its customers and the bank usually put a halt on the card from ever making more charges then notify me to call into customer service. Seem like the credit card division has better customer protection protocols in place than the banking divisions.
That’s just HORRIBLE‼️🥺
I feel like you should get more.... WAY MORE than just your OWN money back. I bet if you take a gun in a Citi branch and stick up a teller for their draw. I'm betting Citibank won't be like, "Meh, no biggie, it wasn't our money."
I would imagine most of these fraud, scams start with internal employees.
Fraud and Scams are two separate things. Hacking and scams are not synonymous. This is insane. but this is a lack of overall education regarding the financial industry. They’re using all of the words into interchangeably and they are different forms of illegal activity.
Attorney fees? Other damages such as lost of the house? Punitive Damages? And is there class action if other consumers have also lost money?
What’s also sad is that most people wouldn’t even be able to have enough for the attorney fees to pay for a good lawyer to fight the lawsuit.
My conclusion from having worked at the "umbrella company" around 20 years ago, was that they didn't have control over their operations. Whether it be the bond trader that sold and rebought all of the german bond holdings in a single day and triggered a political response from Berlin, or the famous bowing apology of the CEO in front of Japanese parliament for their tax law breaches. There was no way to manage that big and decentralized of a global operation across every type of financial industry that exists. Then there was the Parmalat issue.
The lawyer cost was probably close to 30% of that
I wonder how much of that went to his lawyers
@yolyprog2561
15 күн бұрын
One third
I hope Scott and other victims get their money back. Banks NEED TO PROTECT THEIR CLIENTS!