When Mr. K became the victim of identity theft, he did what any responsible consumer would do—he reported the fraud to his bank, Citibank, and asked them to close the compromised account. Instead of protecting him, Citibank reopened the account for the ID Thief. The result? Tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges, a wrecked credit score.
Fortunately, this story doesn’t end there. It ends with justice
In April 2025, an arbitrator granted summary judgment in favor of our consumer, finding Citibank liable for violating the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The ruling is a powerful reminder that banks are not above the law—and that consumers have rights that can and should be enforced. As a consumer rights attorney, I’ve seen countless stories like this one. But this case stands out because it exposes, in meticulous detail, just how badly a major financial institution can mishandle a clear case of identity theft—and how the law can be used to make things right
Mr. K had been a loyal Citibank customer for nearly a decade. He paid his bills on time, never missed a payment, and maintained an excellent credit score. But in May 2022, a fraudster easily convinced Citibank to change the address, phone number, and email associated with his account to a fraudulent address in Kentucky. Mr. K was notified of these changes and immediately reported the fraud and asked Citibank to permanently close the account. The bank even confirmed that the account was closed.
But just two days later—without his knowledge—Citibank reopened the account and sent new credit cards to the fraudster in Kentucky.
Over the next few months, the thief went on a spending spree, racking up over $40,000 in fraudulent charges. Citibank had numerous chances to detect and stop the fraud, but each time it failed. The address flipped between Michigan and Kentucky five times. The bank added a bogus “authorized user” and repeatedly sent new cards to the Kentucky address—even after admitting the address was fraudulent.
If that weren’t bad enough, Citibank initially tried to blame the victim. When he disputed the charges, the bank treated his case as a “fraudulent application” investigation (meaning someone supposedly opened a new account) instead of an account takeover (meaning someone hijacked an existing account). This distinction mattered because Citibank’s “fraud application” process automatically assumed the customer was responsible for charges on legitimate accounts.
Even after police confirmed it was identity theft, Citibank refused to correct its mistake. Worse, it reported the fraudulent account as delinquent to the major credit bureaus, destroying Mr. K’s credit score. When he applied for a mortgage on his retirement home, he was forced to pay thousands more in mortgage.
This is where experienced legal representation made all the difference. This is not our first time beating Citibank, but it is the most recent victory. We got our client just under $600,000 including $100,000 in punitive damages.
Our firm represented Mr. K and filed claims under three key consumer protection laws:
Citi’s lawyers dumped over 2300 documents on us in discovery. We reviewed every one of those pages…several times. We discovered that Citibank had ignored its own records, failed to verify identity changes, reopened a closed account without authorization, and kept reporting false debts even after being presented with police reports and its own internal findings that confirmed the fraud.
In his April 16, 2025 order, the arbitrator granted summary judgment for Mr. K on all issues of liability. Here’s what that means in plain English: the evidence was so one-sided that there was no need for a trial to determine who was at fault. We only had a trial to determine damages and Citi took a beating. They most they offered our client was $25,000. We got him just under $600,000.
Key Findings:
In short, Citibank’s indifference wasn’t just sloppy—it was illegal.
This ruling sends a loud and clear message: You don’t have to accept a bank’s mistakes as your problem.
If your bank or credit card company has:
…then you should call us. We can help you at no out of pocket charge.
If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, unauthorized charges, or false credit reporting, don’t wait for the bank to “figure it out.” They rarely do. Instead, talk to a consumer protection attorney who can demand answers, recover damages, and restore your financial reputation.
We represent consumers who’ve been wronged by banks, lenders, and credit bureaus. If you’ve found yourself in a similar situation—if your credit has been ruined by someone else’s fraud or a company’s indifference—you have rights, and I can help you enforce them. The law is on your side and so am I.
Call me today, for a free, no obligation consultation. Let me show you what we can do to get your money back from the bank. I am Attorney Gary Nitzkin. Call me at (248) 353-2882 or email me at Gary@crlam.com. You can also visit our website at www.ConsumerLawyersUS.com.
The Banks have very good lawyers and you can too.
Consumer Rights Attorney Gary Nitzkin
Tel (248) 353-2882
Gary@gnitzkin
