Man Thrown in Jail for Trying to...Deposit a Check?

Last June, a man spent a weekend in jail and lost his job and his car — all for trying to deposit a cashier's check issued by the bank itself.

According to Seattle's KING 5 News, Ikenna Njoku, 28, of Auburn, Wash. had a $8,463.21 cashier's check from Chase Bank. When he attempted to deposit it, the teller deemed it suspicious and took the check, along with his driver's license and credit card. Frustrated, and without his money, Njoku left, only to return to the bank the next day and be greeted by the police.

Njoku was arrested for forgery and taken to jail. The next day, the bank realized the error and that the check was legitimate, and left a message for the detective on the case, who had the day off. In the end, Njoku stayed in jail for the entire weekend and was fired from his job for not showing up to work. His car had been towed from the parking lot and was later sold at auction because he couldn't pay the impound fees. The check was also seized.

"They treated me like I was a criminal. I was just trying to cash a Chase check," Njoku said.

Njoku said he tried to contact Chase unsuccessfully for one year. On Thursday, Chase finally issued an apology:

"This is a very unfortunate and unusual situation. We apologize to Mr. Njoku and deeply regret what happened to him. We are working quickly to understand all the details so we can reach a fair resolution."

Watch the full story here: