JPMorgan sued after millions stolen from Ray-Ban maker’s account

JPMORGAN Chase Bank NA was sued by a unit of the French maker of Ray-Ban glasses, which claims the bank ignored red flags as international cybercriminals drained US$272 million from its New York bank account.

Essilor Manufacturing (Thailand) Co (EMTC) said JPMorgan 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 US$15 million to more than US$100 million and money being moved to shell companies at regional banks, often in high-risk jurisdictions, EMTC said in the complaint filed Monday (Apr 25) in federal court in Manhattan.

“The fraudulent transfers were all made in round dollar amounts (ie, 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. JPMorgan Chase Bank is a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPMorgan Chase didn’t respond to a request for comment.

EMTC said it recovered all but US$100 million of the stolen funds “through a costly and burdensome process”. It’s seeking compensatory damages to be determined at trial. BLOOMBERG