If your a first time home buyer and qualify for a first time home buyer rebate, you may want to think twice before cashing your check, if it's from Chase....lol!
Last June, 28-year-old Ikenna Njoku of Auburn, Washington was reportedly imprisoned for four days after trying to cash a Chase check the bank itself had issued to him.
Mr. Njoku, who at the time claims he had become a new homeowner, qualified for the first-time home buyer rebate on his tax return, for a total of $8,463.21 after overdraft fees, reports
King 5 Seattle.
When Chase mailed him the check, he says that he sought to cash it as quickly as possible. But when he arrived at the Chase bank, the banker allegedly thought the check, and his claim that he owned a home, were fraudulent.
"I was embarrassed," Njoku told King 5. "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."
According to Mr. Njoku, he left the bank and was told by customer service that he should come back the next morning. When he did, the bank had phoned the police, who subsequently arrested him for forgery.
Njoku remained in jail for four days. When the bank realized it had made a mistake, they left a voicemail message with the detective handling the case, but unfortunately for Mr. Njoku, it was the detective's day off. No further attempts were made by the bank to correct the error, the local police department confirmed to King 5.
The check that had landed him in prison was reportedly seized as evidence and he lost his job for failing to show up while in prison.
