Man Falsely Imprisoned For Cashing Check

Here is the story of Ikenna Njoku, a 28-year old construction worker from Auburn, Washington. When he recieved a rebate check from the IRS,  Njoku signed up to have the rebate deposited directly into his Chase Bank account. But when the IRS rebate arrived, there was a problem.  Chase had closed Njoku’s account because of overdrawn checks in the past. The bank deducted $600 to cover what he owed them and mailed him a cashier’s check for the difference–$8,463.21… Njoku showed up at the Chase branch near his house intending to cash the check… which had Njoku’s name and address on it and was issued by JP Morgan Chase. But the Chase Customer Banker who handles large checks at the Auburn branch said the check looked fake, so she took it, along with Njoku’s driver license and credit card, and called Bank Support.  Auburn police arrested him for forgery – a felony crime. Njoku was taken to jail on June 24, 2010, which was a Thursday. The next day, Chase Special Investigations, realized it was a mistake. The check was legitimate. The Investigator called Auburn Police and left a message with the detective handling the case, but it was her day off. So Njoku stayed in jail for the entire weekend. Finally, on Monday, he was released. Njoku’s car had been towed from the bank parking lot and his check seized as evidence. Njoku says he didn’t have the money to pay the impound fees and fines to get his car back before it was sold.  He said he also lost his job because he didn’t show up for work while he was in jail.

(Attribution: King 5 News)