Ray-Bans Maker Sues JPMorgan, Claiming Bank Could Have Stopped $272M Fraud

Essilor Manufacturing, a unit of the French maker of Ray-Ban glasses, has sued JPMorgan Chase Bank over claims the bank had ignored red flags as cybercriminals from around the globe drained $272 million from its New York account, a report said.

Essilor said JPMorgan had been aware as of September 2019 of a suspicious pattern of fraud, though there were no notifications.

Essilor operates a Thailand-based manufacturing plant for EssilorLuxottica SA. JPMorgan Chase Bank is a unit for JPMorgan Chase.

The red flags included much more monthly dollar volume from $15 million to over $100 million. There was money being moved to shell companies at regional banks, which were often in high-risk jurisdictions.

The report from Essilor said the fraudulent transactions were all made “in round dollar amounts (i.e., no cents), which was a dramatic departure from prior periods where round dollar transfers were relatively infrequent.”

According to Essilor, it had recovered all but $100 million of the stolen funds, though the methods were “costly and burdensome.”

See also: JPMorgan Adds $1B+ to Loan Loss Reserves as Economic Threats Mount

PYMNTS wrote that JPMorgan’s last earnings results show a lot of uncertainties amid its $902 million loan loss reserves. The loan loss reserves show a change from last year when the company released $5.2 billion into earnings.

This time, there’s caution about Fed rate hikes to combat inflation.

According to Jamie Dimon, CEO, there could be “higher probabilities” of downward movement in the economy and more risk overall.

JPMorgan had seen 21% growth at the time in credit and debit volumes, with supplemental materials showing $351.5 million in supplemental materials.

CFO Jeremy Barnum reportedly said the company is seeing positive trends still.