A major U.S. bank is facing legal action for allegedly mishandling customer funds, which led to a financial crisis that left 85,000 individuals unable to access their savings.
Yotta Technologies has filed a lawsuit against Evolve Bank & Trust, accusing the institution of fraud, conspiracy, and negligence. Yotta had partnered with Evolve to safeguard customer deposits made through a high-yield savings program.
The issue escalated in May 2024 when Evolve’s fintech partner, Synapse, went bankrupt, causing Yotta’s customers to lose access to $112 million in funds.
Yotta contends that Evolve carried out over $25 million in unauthorized and undisclosed transactions, including direct transfers to Synapse, breaching banking regulations and violating customer trust. The company claims these actions led to a shortfall of $65 million to $95 million in the accounts.
Yotta’s investigation suggests a coordinated effort between Evolve and Synapse to misappropriate the funds, stating that the transactions were never authorized by customers. Evolve has denied the accusations, attributing the problem to incorrect account data provided by Synapse.
While Evolve has begun issuing partial repayments, approximately $11 million has been returned to 13,300 affected customers, paying out only a fraction of the owed amount.
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