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JPMorgan Sued Following Systemic US$272m Ray-Ban Cybercrime

JPMorgan Sued Following Systemic US$272m Ray-Ban Cybercrime

(28 April 2022 – Global) JPMorgan has been sued by a unit of the French maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses alleging the global investment bank ignored warnings as international cybercriminals siphoned US$272 million from its New York bank account.

A subsidiary of Ray-Ban maker Essilor Luxottica (EMTC) asserted that JPMorgan was aware, beginning in Q3 2019, of a highly suspicious pattern of fraudulent transactions but failed to notify the company. Warning signs included a jump in monthly dollar volume from US$15 million to more than US$100 million and funds being transferred to shell companies at regional banks, often in high-risk jurisdictions, EMTC stated in the complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan.

EMTC confirmed it recovered all but US$100 million of the stolen funds through a costly and burdensome process and is now seeking compensatory damages to be determined at trial. The funds were sent to shell companies with names such as Guangzhou Wendy Hair Products or Citgo Oil Trading LLC, indicating they were not in the eye-care business, according to the lawsuit.

“The fraudulent transfers were all made in round dollar amounts which was a dramatic departure from prior periods where round dollar transfers were relatively infrequent” EMTC said.

JPMorgan denied the allegations “It is very unfortunate when losses occur with any of our clients as a result of a breakdown of a client’s own internal controls, and Essilor Luxottica has acknowledged publicly that colluding employees successfully circumvented the company’s internal controls to submit, approve and confirm the fraudulent payment orders” the bank said.

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