Tampa Bay General Contractors, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., alleging unauthorized withdrawals from their account and seeking substantial damages. The complaint was filed in the County Court of Pinellas County, Florida, on January 30, 2025, accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank of civil theft and conversion.
The case revolves around three unauthorized Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions that debited Tampa Bay General Contractors' account at Chase. On August 30, 2024, $2,200 was withdrawn without authorization and deposited into an account under the name MD Designs. A similar transaction occurred on September 10, 2024, for $3,800. Both incidents were promptly reported to Chase by Tampa Bay General Contractors (TBGC), leading to initial reversals of the debits by the bank. However, a third unauthorized withdrawal on September 16, 2024, amounting to $8,300 was also reversed after being reported.
Despite these reversals, Chase later sent letters stating that the first two transactions were deemed authorized while providing no explanation for this determination or why the third transaction was treated differently. TBGC's legal counsel demanded that Chase re-credit their account with the disputed amounts totaling $6,000 but received no satisfactory response or evidence supporting Chase's claims of authorization.
TBGC argues that Chase's refusal to return their funds constitutes civil theft under Florida Statute §772.11 and is seeking statutory treble damages amounting to $18,000 as well as other associated costs and fees. They claim that all conditions precedent have been met or waived for pursuing these claims.
Represented by Stephen O. Cole from Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen law firm in Clearwater and Tampa, TBGC is pressing forward with this legal action in hopes of recovering their losses and holding JPMorgan Chase accountable for what they allege are wrongful acts against them.
This case is presided over by Judge Ken Burke in Pinellas County Court under Case Number: 25-000977-CO.