Man jailed for cashing Chase check at Chase Bank...

AUBURN, Wash. - Buying his own home was a big accomplishment for construction worker, Ikenna Njoku, of Auburn. He’s only 28 years old.
“I was really excited. For the first time, I actually got to buy a lawn mower, mow my lawn and everything,” said Njoku.

Njoku qualified for the first time home buyer rebate on his tax return.

"It was really important, I had a vehicle I was looking on paying off," said. Njoku. And it wasn’t just any vehicle. “It was a 2001 Infinity I-30, silver…just like my favorite car, “he said.

Njoku signed up to have the rebate deposited directly into his Chase Bank account. But when the IRS rebate arrived, there was a problem. Chase had closed Njoku’s account because of overdrawn checks in the past. The bank deducted $600 to cover what he owed them and mailed him a cashier’s check for the difference--$8,463.21.

But when Njoku showed up at the Chase branch near his house intending to cash the check, he was in for a nasty surprise.

The check had Njoku’s name and address on it and was issued by JP Morgan Chase. But the Chase Customer Banker who handles large checks at the Auburn branch was immediately suspicious.

“I was embarrassed,” Njoku said. “She asked me what I did for a living. Asked me where I got the check from, looked me up and down—like ‘you just bought a house in Auburn, really?’ She didn’t believe that,” he said.

The Customer Banker said the check looked fake, so she took it, along with Njoku’s driver license and credit card, and called Bank Support.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, Njoku said he got impatient and told Chase he was leaving to do an important errand. By the time he got back, the bank was closed. Njoku said he called customer service and asked them what he should do. He says they told him to go back to the bank the next day to get his money.

But when Njoku arrived, it wasn’t the money that was waiting for him.

“They just threw me in jail; they called the police and said this guy has a fraudulent check,” Njoku said.

Auburn police arrested him for forgery - a felony crime.

“I was like - you’re making a mistake, you’re making a mistake, don’t take me to jail, I got work tomorrow. I can’t afford to miss work,” he said.

Njoku was taken to jail on June 24, 2010, which was a Thursday. The next day, Chase Special Investigations, realized it was a mistake. The check was legitimate. The Investigator called Auburn Police and left a message with the detective handling the case, but it was her day off. So Njoku stayed in jail for the entire weekend. Finally, on Monday, he was released.

Auburn Police Commander Dave Colglazier said Chase could have done a lot more to let them know they’d locked up an innocent man.

“We do have a main line that comes into our front office,” he said. “There are ways to reach someone 24/7 at a police department.”

For Njoku, going to jail for five days meant a lot more than just losing his freedom. He said the entire time he was “just stressed out…trying to figure out what was going on with my vehicle. I love my vehicle,” he said.

Njoku’s car had been towed from the bank parking lot and his check seized as evidence.

“I had to wait a couple of weeks,” he said, “and my car got sold, auctioned off."

Njoku says he didn’t have the money to pay the impound fees and fines to get his car back before it was sold. He said he also lost his job because he didn’t show up for work while he was in jail.

After all of that, Njoku said he never heard a word from Chase.

“They haven’t even sent me a letter or apologized,” he said. “It’s been a year we’ve been trying to contact these guys.”

Finally, A Seattle attorney offered to help. Last week, Felix Luna sent Chase a scathing letter. Read the attorneys' letter to Chase

“It’s one thing to make a mistake,” Luna said. “It’s one thing to make multiple errors of judgment like Chase has made and then, once you realize that your error has caused such harm to somebody else, to just ignore it for a year. I think he deserved better. I think all their customers do.”

Like Njoku, KING 5 had a difficult time getting answers from Chase. A week after first contacting them, they sent a two line e-mail.

"We received the letter and are reviewing the situation. We'll be reaching out to the customer," wrote Darcy Donoahoe-Wilmot, from Chase Media Relations.

Njoku said that even after he got out of jail, he said was confused and upset. "For a month, two months, I was just down and depressed," he said.

He’s still happy he bought his house, but sad that his experience with his own bank was so humiliating.

“They treated me like a criminal,” he said.

Otoki said:
So wait, I'm really confused re-reading it. Why, once it was determined that his check was NOT fraudulent, were his car and check not returned immediately? Why would he have had to pay to get his car out of the impound lot?

Otoki said:
So wait, I'm really confused re-reading it. Why, once it was determined that his check was NOT fraudulent, were his car and check not returned immediately? Why would he have had to pay to get his car out of the impound lot?

IDGAS said:

The check was retained by the police as evidence. (I don't know why)

MissyMalice said:
So do they not have to provide any evidence that the check is actually fake in order to have you arrested for it? O.o

Coyotemike said:

The teller is at fault for that. They're supposed to run the check through the system before taking any sort of action. This takes less than 24 hours if they put a rush on it. It might not even take that anymore, particularly for an in-house check.

Otoki said:

Oh. I was under the impression that his car had been towed as "evidence" for police, not by the bank because they knew it'd be in their lot overnight because he'd be going to jail. I also thought cars that got towed got towed to the city impound.

Now I know.

Coyotemike said:

I think the towing depends on the city, whether they have their own impound lot or contract it out.

Coyotemike said:
Sorry, I was wondering off on a tangent.

IDGAS said:

The car was in the bank's parking lot and tow by a company hired by the bank to keep the lot free of unauthorized cars. The towing company acted lawfully and was entailed to be paid by the car owner to redeem his car. Most states permit towing companies to sell vehicles after 30 (sometimes 60) day to recover their costs. (<== some of the semi-useful info I have picked up over the years.)

The check was retained by the police as evidence. (I don't know why)

Stiles said:
Parking lot enforcement and wreck chasing are so minimally regulated in many places that a Wild West mentality takes hold among tow operators, with companies making illegal tows and using police scanners to get to accident scenes (sometimes before the cops do) pretty common practice in places like Philadelphia.

When people do go to retrieve their cars (often in remote locations and/or bad neighborhoods hard to access by public transit, and limited operating hours) they usually only accept cash and many require the owner to sign a damage waiver of dubious legality before getting their car back, or even seeing it.

BTDT, had to call the cops on the tow company and report the car stolen by the tow company when they wouldn't give me my car back when I refused to sign the waiver after I paid them. Needless to say, I got my car back, and fast.

My sympathy to this guy. I hope he takes Chase to the cleaners.

Coyotemike said:

The teller is at fault for that. They're supposed to run the check through the system before taking any sort of action. This takes less than 24 hours if they put a rush on it. It might not even take that anymore, particularly for an in-house check.