Bank Customers Sued For Taking Wrong Money From ATM

Central National Bank, located in Wichita, is trying to get back money it lost when an ATM gave a customer $100 bills instead of $5 bills.

According to a report in Money, the bank filed a lawsuit in Sedgwick County District seeking for customer Christina Ochoa to give back around $11,600 plus interest. The bank contends Ochoa realized the ATM was working incorrectly and made more withdrawals to get more money mistakenly dispensed. The customer allegedly made the withdrawls from Jan. 13 through Jan. 17 during the wee hours of the night. Ochoa’s mother, Christy Ochoa, is listed in the complaint because she gave her daughter a ride to the ATM.  “The first time the ATM dispensed more money than what was due … Christina and Christy had a duty to return the surplus funds to the bank,” the lawsuit stated, according to Money. “Not only did they fail to (do) so, but they capitalized on the situation by making a series of over fifty (50) structured withdrawals, most within minutes of each other, and transacted at all hours of the night in order to expose Central to more loss.”

Both Ochoas have claimed they are innocent, contending the multiple withdrawals were to have enough $5 bills for a money cake for a baby shower. The bank has kept the money in Ochoa’s account to get back some of the lost money and around $680 that was deposited on Jan. 30. The bank wants the courts to confiscate two vehicles that were purchased during the time frame in which the ATM wasn’t working properly. The bank contends the $3,000 down payment for one came from the money that was mistakenly dispensed from the ATM.  Christy Ochoa claims the car down payments came from student loan proceeds and a settlement from a car accident.