Consumer complaint received 2024-10-29 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: OK

Complaint narrative:
This report involves a series of fraudulent charges on my American Express card by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a XXXX individual with a history of fraud and manipulation. XXXX, who is also an American Express cardholder, has a criminal history, including a XXXX FBI investigation and conviction for wire fraud, leading to his disbarment as an attorney and sentencing for 41 months in prison. Despite this known background, American Express has taken no action to restrict XXXX account or address his fraudulent activities. XXXX XXXX made unauthorized charges on my American Express card, including using it to pay for personal expenses like his XXXX girlfriend 's XXXX University tuition. I filed a dispute with American Express, which has continually refused to investigate these charges as fraud, instead misclassifying the situation as 'embezzlement, ' so they would not have to dispute charges and neglecting to properly contact the vendors for verification. 

In contrast, XXXX and XXXX  XXXX XXXX investigated and charged back similar fraudulent charges made by XXXX XXXX. Both banks completed their investigations and deemed the charges fraudulent, with the transactions reversed. This inconsistency in treatment across credit card providers is alarming, especially given that law enforcement, including the XXXX Police Department White Collar Crimes Division, has filed a police report and referred the case to both the IRS Police and FBI for multi-state fraud investigation. Despite this American Express contacted neither of the three law enforcement agencies. 

American Express is not upholding my rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1666 ) and Regulation Z ( 12 C.F.R. 1026.13 ), which require them to conduct a thorough investigation of unauthorized transactions. As a victim of fraud, I am seeking an immediate reclassification of this dispute as fraud, a full investigation of each charge, and appropriate chargebacks to my account. I also request that American Express updates its internal protocols to prevent such oversight in handling fraud investigations, especially when other financial institutions have already found conclusive evidence of fraud by the same individual. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I discovered a pattern of multiple unauthorized charges totaling {$45000.00} on my American Express card. These transactions were made by an individual named XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, who manipulated me into providing my card information under for a transaction under false pretenses and subsequently made numerous unauthorized charges, including using the card to pay for personal expenses, such as his girlfriends XXXX University tuition. XXXX XXXX, a XXXX repeat fraud offender with a criminal record, committed this fraud across multiple credit accounts, laundering money using my card to skirt federal and state tax judgements, and {$14.00} XXXX in civil judgments in the state of Maryland, prompting investigations by various financial institutions. 

I immediately reported the unauthorized charges to American Express and provided extensive evidence, including communications showing that XXXX XXXX acted without my consent. 

Upon discovering the pattern of unauthorized charges, I immediately reported them to American Express and provided extensive supporting evidence, including text messages, emails, and police reports demonstrating that XXXX acted without my consent. 

I also filed a police report with the XXXX Police Department 's White Collar Crimes Division ( report number available on request ), which has since referred the case to the FBI due to its multi-state nature. Despite these measures, American Express has refused to classify the case as fraud, instead labeling it as " embezzlement, '' and has not conducted a thorough investigation or contacted vendors involved, unlike XXXX and XXXX  XXXX XXXX, which promptly credited back all unauthorized charges made by the same individual on my accounts. 

American Express has canceled my account which was in good standing from XXXX up until the fraud and only communicated vague notices via letter and one direct phone conversation with an American and has repeatedly avoided direct responses, despite my certified mail correspondence on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, outlining these unauthorized charges as fraud. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from American Express denying the dispute based on the misclassification of fraud as embezzlement, which contradicts the evidence and actions taken by other banks and the United States Government Federal and state law enforcement definitions of fraud. A representative of American Express told me they use their own definition of fraud to fit their terms of services. This mishandling of the dispute has left me, the victim, bearing financial liability for fraudulent charges. 

I am requesting the CFPBs intervention to ensure American Express treats this case as credit card fraud, consistent with actions by other financial institutions, and to fulfill its obligations under the Fair Credit Billing Act and Regulation Z, which mandate a full investigation and reversal of unauthorized transactions. 

The list of Companies Include : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation