A Detroit bank has apologized to a man who attempted to cash a settlement check he’d received in a racial discrimination lawsuit. But it may be too late, as he’s already filing a lawsuit against that bank, and may soon have another check to cash, reports EUR Web.
Sauntore Thomas, 44, had three checks to deposit and cash at Detroit’s TCF Bank. Instead, bank employee called police, believing the checks were fraudulent. Thomas says a bank manager asked where he got the checks from.
“We apologize for the experience Mr. Thomas had at our banking center. Local police should not have been involved,” TCF said in a statement Thursday. “We strongly condemn racism and discrimination of any kind. We take extra precautions involving large deposits and requests for cash and in this case, we were unable to validate the checks presented by Mr. Thomas and regret we could not meet his needs.”
Thomas sued TCF Bank on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2019, alleging it refused to deposit his check from a race discrimination lawsuit he settled because he is Black. According to TCF, the checks that Thomas presented displayed a watermark that read VOID when they were scanned in a web viewer, which raised suspicion for fraud. The checks, though, were legitimate as Thomas deposited them that same day at a Chase bank in Detroit and they cleared within 12 hours, said his lawyer, Deborah Gordon. “I’m very pleased about the apology. That needed to be done.”
Four officers showed up at the bank. Thomas’ lawyer provided proof of the court settlement, but not only did TCF refuse to cash the checks, they filed a police report. TCF says the confidential nature of the settlement meant the company issuing the checks would not provide info, according to Freep.com.
Thomas closed his account and found a more willing banking partner at Chase, which cleared his money in a day. Thomas, with the help of Gordon, has now filed a lawsuit against TCF. He told the freep.com: “I didn’t deserve treatment like that. I’m a United States veteran. I have an honorable discharge from the Air Force. They discriminated against me because I’m Black. None of this would have happened if I were White.”
Due to the confidential nature of the settlement, the amount of the checks was not disclosed.
