New York (CNN) – So much for all that “free” money.

Customers who allegedly fraudulently withdrew money from Chase Bank ATMs using an illegal scheme that blew up on TikTok over the summer may soon have to cut hefty checks back to the bank.

These people were able to withdraw funds by writing checks and immediately withdrawing funds before the checks bounced. Normally, the bank follows the industry standard of making a portion of any check available to customers before funds are cleared. However, a temporary glitch allowed customers to withdraw more substantial amounts than typically allowed before a check cleared.

Now the bank is suing four customers who allegedly owe the bank nearly $662,000, according to four lawsuits filed Monday in three federal courts by JPMorgan Chase Bank, Chase’s parent company.

A Houston case involves a “masked man” who allegedly deposited a $335,000 check into a defendant’s account. Chase says the defendant owes it $291,000 — the most in all four cases — the bank said Monday in a Texas filing.

In all four cases, Chase said it contacted the defendants to ask them to “pay the amount of any overdraft together with any applicable fees.” However, the defendants have so far failed to do so, which the bank claims is a breach of the deposit agreement customers must sign when they open an account.

Now, in addition to returning the funds they allegedly misappropriated, Chase is asking the defendants to cover the bank’s legal fees and other costs related to the cases.

JPMorgan also filed lawsuits in federal courts in Florida and California.

“Fraud is a crime that affects everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” Chase spokesman Drew Pusateri said in an emailed statement to CNN. “We are pursuing these cases and actively cooperating with law enforcement to ensure that if anyone commits fraud against Chase and its customers, they are held accountable.”

Pusateri added that the bank is “open to pursuing other individuals or entities that we believe are involved in bank fraud.”

JPMorgan Chase is the largest US bank by assets, with about $3.5 trillion.

The-CNN-Wire
and © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. company. Discovery. All rights reserved.