An Illinois woman filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Bank of America after it accepted her deposit of a check she received from the U.S. Treasury, closed her account, and refused to give her any money or explanation.
Charlotte Warren received a check from the U.S. Treasury for $24,158.14 for back payment of disability funds due to her severe asthma and other disabilities. She went to one of Bank of America’s locations in Naperville, Illinois on April 17 to deposit the money in her account. She returned to the bank the next day with her daughter to check on the availability of the funds and was shocked to find out her account was closed.
“I went over to the teller,” Charlotte said to NBC Chicago. “She said ‘No, you don’t have an account.’”
Shavonna, her daughter, ensured the bank teller that it was a government check.
“There’s not much to figure out. It’s a government check. It’s easy to verify. Her funds should be available right now,” said Shavonna to the teller.
The bank then told the women, “There’s nothing we can do.”
“There has to be something you can do,” Warren responded to the teller.
Her response fell on deaf ears because the Warrens left the bank without the money and more questions.
“After fighting for it all this time, I don’t have anything,” Charlotte said to NBC Chicago. “You can just take it, and you’re OK with it?”
She had to battle with the Social Security Disability Insurance office to receive the funds and now they were being denied by the bank because they questioned the validity of the check.
“The biggest one that got me was [when the manager said,] ‘Sometimes they have drug deals,’” Charlotte said to NBC Chicago. “Or criminal activities linked to large amounts.”
Bank of America also closed her account just days after she opened it. More than a month passed, and the bank offered no valid explanation. So, the Warrens decided to hire…
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