A woman is suing Truist Bank for $2.5 million after they allegedly defamed her business reputation by sharing surveillance images of her with the public when they falsely accused her of theft and bank fraud.
Last June, someone was caught impersonating a Truist customer at one of the bank’s branches in the Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett County. The female culprit was caught on camera cashing a fraudulent check for $6,111 and withdrawing a cash amount of $13,670 from someone else’s account.
The bank pinned the theft on a Hispanic woman who entered the branch around the same time as the suspect to cash two legitimate checks for $1,500 in child support from her ex-husband. Believing she was the perpetrator, Truist shared surveillance images of her in a shirt with Minnie Mouse on the sleeves with police to distribute to the public.
Now, that woman is taking the bank to court for inadequately investigating the incident and wrongly suspecting her of theft. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that while the plaintiff is Hispanic, the actual suspect is not.
Still, that didn’t stop the bank from sharing the plaintiff’s image, which was published by several media outlets in connection with bank fraud allegations, according to the complaint.
She did clear her name with the bank and Gwinnett County Police, but claims that the bank failed to take steps to repair the harm the allegations did to her reputation. The woman said she asked the bank in September to identify all public reports of the false accusation and to remove or correct those reports.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Taylor Wilson, told the AJC that the bank’s accusations ultimately threatened her client’s lawful immigration status and harmed her business.
“Her image had been out in the world as a thief and con artist,” Wilson said. “The publicity surrounding her wrongful identification is not yet fully corrected.”
The Gwinnett County Police Department is not being sued, nor are any of the media outlets that broadcasted the theft or the images. Several outlets attempted to correct their coverage after police notified them the information was inaccurate.
Truist Bank said it is aware of the lawsuit, but doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Police are continuing to investigate the bank fraud incident from last summer. No suspects have been identified or arrested yet.
