(Bloomberg) — J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. was sued by a unit of the French maker of Ray-Ban glasses, which claims the bank ignored red flags as international cybercriminals drained $272 million from its New York bank account.
Essilor Manufacturing (Thailand) Co. said J.P. Morgan was aware, beginning in September 2019, of a “highly suspicious pattern of fraudulent transactions” but didn’t notify the company.
Red flags included a jump in monthly dollar volume from $15 million to more than $100 million and money being moved to shell companies at regional banks, often in high-risk jurisdictions, EMTC said in the complaint filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan.
“The fraudulent transfers 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,” EMTC said.
EMTC operates a manufacturing plant in Thailand for EssilorLuxottica SA. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank is a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. A representative for the New York-based bank declined to comment.
EMTC said it recovered all but $100 million of the stolen funds “through a costly and burdensome process.” It’s seeking compensatory damages to be determined at trial.
The suit is Essilor International SAS v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 22-cv-03361, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
(Updates with JPMorgan’s decline to comment in fifth paragraph.)
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