Posted on 09/08/2022 4:02:45 AM PDT by dennisw
A Black woman from Michigan says she was racially discriminated against when three employees at a Fifth Third Bank told her a casino jackpot check she was trying to deposit was fraudulent, according to a recently filed federal lawsuit.
Lizzie Pugh, 71, tried to deposit the check April 11 at one of the bank’s Livonia branches, according to the suit filed Aug. 29 in U.S. District Court in Michigan. The lawsuit said Pugh had a check in hand from the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, where she had hit a slot machine jackpot on April 9 while out with a church group.
Lizzie Pugh. (Courtesy of Attorney Deborah Gordon) Lizzie Pugh. (Courtesy of Attorney Deborah Gordon) When she arrived at Fifth Third, where she did not have an account, Pugh was told by three white female employees, her check was fraudulent while attempting to open a savings account. The employees also tried to keep the check, according to the suit, which does not name the employees.
Pugh’s attorney, Deborah Gordon, told NBC News on Wednesday the check her client tried to deposit was for about $12,000 after taxes were taken out by the casino on a $20,000 jackpot.
Pugh, according to the lawsuit, was raised in Alabama during the Jim Crow era and retired from Detroit Public Schools after 36 years.
“This is just one example of the continual hurdles and indignities that Black Americans face every day,” Gordon said.
A spokesperson for Fifth Third Bank said in a statement: “At Fifth Third, we are committed to fair and responsible banking and prohibit discrimination of any kind
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
That alone is a reason for the bank to not cash her check.
Also, I would think the bank would recognize a genuine check from somewhere and would understand the risks of turning down a black customer with a true check.
This happened near Detroit. Very likely EVERYONE involved is bLACK. But don’t let that stop you from getting some gravy train from “The Man”!
There is a common scam where crook provide a fake check. Banks will clear it after a certain amount of time, sometimes based on law.
But it may take weeks for the bogus check to work it’s way through the system.
another news story not worthy of your your time.
otoh.if the bank thought the check was fake they would have called the police in the first place. I'm sure the bank told her she had to wait for the check to clear ( we need to keep the check ma'am) to make sure it was good and she had an ugly tift because of her own self righteousness.
PS, she retired from the school system is all I needed to know that she is stupid. Otoh, who cashes her pension checks? Why didn't she go to her bank ,they wouldn't have cashed it either.
The article says she was trying to open a savings account with them.
I do know I can not open an account without identification, did she have any?
There is also the Federal law concerning transfer of over $10,000 having to be reported. Could this have been a problem.
As I said, there are many reasons other then “racism” for the bank not to cash the check or to open an account.
If she is suing the courts will determine which party is right and which is wrong.
Perhaps but Ive learned to always wait for the other half of the story.
The article, as dictated by her lawyer, says she wanted to deposit it.
LOL!
The check dated April, this is Sept. I’d be wanting to put it in the bank sooner than 5 months later. It takes a couple of days to open an account.
She was trying to open a new account at 5/3 Bank. She went and deposited it into a Chase bank.
Perhaps but Ive learned to always wait for the other half of the story.
*******
Yep more to this story than is in the article summary. Whether
she just wanted cash or wanted to deposit it I think most banks
would want the check to clear before doing any other transactions.
My mistake.
Racist bank!
Sue, sue, sue!!!
“they should have deposited it and held it till cleared”
She didn’t have an account with them. So, they should have informed her she needed to open a checking account after which they would deposit the check and make funds available after it cleared or alternatively tell her to go to her bank.
....And?
“...where she had hit a slot machine jackpot on April 9 while out with a church group.”
What kind of a church group spends time together in a casino?
Exactly. Just open the account, deposit the check, and wait until it clears. Isn’t that standard operating procedure.
When I was 26, I had worked a field service job for five years that paid all my expenses. I’d saved $25k, a lot of money 45 years ago. One day, Crocker Bank said my account simply didn’t exist. Banks always screw up and it isn’t always racism. I got my money back after a long fight.
I suspect she has never had a check in hand this large ever before.
It is always customary for the bank to make sure the check clears before they make the funds available. Unless it is a cashiers check drawn specifically from that bank.
Plus, there have been FAKE cashiers checks circulating for years. In my wife’s business she was informed about this years ago. Do not accept a cashiers check from any bank for payment.
These fake checks go along with what as known as the “shippers scam”. The scammer sends you a cashiers check for a product worth thousands of dollars. You deposit the check in your bank. It seems legit because it is from a bank you have heard of before. You ship the product. It takes 10-14 days for your bank to notify you it is a fake cashiers check. By that time the scammer has your product and is never heard from again.
This is a good case for one of the new IRS employees. She was probably trying to avoid paying taxes on the income.
Read the story, she was trying to open a savings account and deposit the check. No reason not to let her deposit the check and put a hold on it.
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