A bank in Livonia, Michigan, is facing a lawsuit after its employees refused to cash a $20,000 check for a Black woman who won the money at a casino.
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Lizzie Pugh,71, won the jackpot at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort while on an April trip with her church group. After earning a check for the winnings, Pugh went to Fifth Third Bank to deposit it in a new savings account. However, the bank’s employees refused to deposit the check and claimed it was “fraudulent” despite the check containing the casino’s logo and address.
Her lawsuit also claims that the bank refused to give the check back until she decided to call her son and a friend for help. The employees gave it back to Pugh after she even offered to call the police. She was able to deposit the check at another bank with no issues.
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After Pugh’s story went viral on Twitter, users started addressing Fifth Third Bank about the case and even accused the company of deleting comments.
Your bank is a fraud! How dare you people, yes, you people, discriminate on that sweet old Black woman?! 5/3 must mean 3/5 a man of your Black. I’ll be sure my Black $ never touch your crappy institution 🤬✊🏾
— AJ (@ajintegrity) September 12, 2022
I’m happy because the sweet old lady you racially discriminated against not only has her large lottery winnings, soon she will have a lot of your money as well. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
— Bob Smith (@BobSmit13351200) September 9, 2022
apparently this bank doesn’t believe that a black woman could legitimately have moneyhttps://t.co/6VqM5h4O5B
— Keithulhu ^(;,;)^ (@elektromorr) September 6, 2022
apparently this bank doesn’t believe that a black woman could legitimately have moneyhttps://t.co/6VqM5h4O5B
— Keithulhu ^(;,;)^ (@elektromorr) September 6, 2022
Pugh’s attorney told Insider they are seeking damages as the bank is being sued for racial discrimination.
“We are committed to fair and responsible banking and prohibit discrimination of any kind. From our review of the claims, we believe the facts to be different than what is alleged. Our employees are trained to help every customer with their banking needs, and our employees follow procedures to facilitate the opening of any new account,” the bank said in a statement. Additionally, it claimed the employees’ actions might have been misinterpreted.
“That said, we regret Ms. Pugh has come away feeling mistreated after her interactions at our branch, as our employees’ actions were consistent with our process and the dual goals of serving our customers while also preventing potential frauds that can victimize both the bank and our customers,”