A woman says a suburban Detroit bank that refused to cash her settlement check on four occasions discriminated against her family because they are Black, according to a lawsuit.
Shanquese Jones, 23, and Bryan Craft Jr., 29, are suing Comerica Bank after they say a branch in Rochester Hills, Michigan, denied them a chance to cash a $1,000 settlement check from their insurance company. The check was drawn on a Comerica account.
The couple had filed the claim after becoming victims of a vehicle break-in and theft of personal property in November, according to the lawsuit filed on Feb. 16.
Jones said in an interview with WDIV-TV that while she had heard of “banking while black,” she never thought it would happen to her.
“I never got racially profiled before, so I walked outside and I was crying. It was embarrassing,” Jones told WDIV-TV.
The lawsuit claims Comerica Bank’s employees accused Jones and Craft of trying to cash a fraudulent check.
The couple is suing the bank for racial discrimination in the making of a contract and accuses the bank of violating Michigan’s Eliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which protects against discriminatory policies and practices based on religion, race, marital status, age and other characteristics.
In the lawsuit, Jones said she first went to the Rochester Hills bank, where she was not a customer, on Nov. 21 with a settlement check dated the day before.
She intended to cash the check “and/or open an account to deposit the check into (a) newly created account,” the lawsuit states.
Jones, Craft and her kids were the only Black customers during each of the four visits to the bank that occurred between November and January, according to the document. On the first visit, Jones showed her identification, signed the check and provided the requested thumbprint and written signatures.
“Much to her surprise, the Comerica bank employee, without any proper investigation, advised Ms. Jones…
Read the full article here
