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A former jail inmate from Georgia says Numi Financial has been unlawfully deducting fees from inmates’ funds that are held in trust during their custody.
Plaintiff Anthony Oliver claims defendants First Century Bank NA and Stored Value Cards Inc., which does business as Numi Financial, have been unlawfully contracting with law enforcement agencies to hold the funds of jail and prison inmates while deducting significant amounts of money from those funds in the form of fees that the inmates never consent to pay.
According to the Numi Financial class action lawsuit, whenever a person is taken into jail or prison for any length of time, all their personal possessions that they bring with them are confiscated.
Historically, any cash an inmate brought in on their person was confiscated along with all their other belongings. Upon release, the inmate could expect to receive the exact same amount of cash back.
But Numi Financial offers law enforcement officials a different way to handle inmate’s currency. Under this arrangement, the inmate deposits any cash into an on-premises ATM. Those funds are held in an “inmate trust account” and returned to the inmate upon their release in the form of a prepaid debit card.
The cost of this system is borne by the inmates, who are forced against their will to pay fees for the alleged service, Oliver claims. Maintenance fees, ATM fees, and purchase transaction fees all get deducted from the inmate’s account balance before the funds are returned, he says.
Oliver reports that typical fees involved in this scheme include a $2.95 fee for each purchase made using the debit card, a weekly service fee of $2.50, and a $0.95 fee for declined transactions.
Inmates no longer have the option of having their money held in cash form, Oliver says. Whether they want to or not, they must submit to Numi Financial’s debit card system and pay the associated fees.
Oliver says he was subject to these Numi Financial unauthorized fees after his October 2016 arrest. He was taken into custody at the Chatham County jail in Savannah, Ga., during which all the cash on his person was confiscated.
When Oliver was released in December, he was given a Numi Financial debit card with access to the remaining funds in his inmate trust account. He was offered no paperwork disclosing the fees he could incur or any other terms and conditions associated with that account, he claims.
He continued to use that debit card to pay for transactions after his release, unaware that each transaction was subject to fees ranging from $1.50 to $2.95. The account was also subject to a weekly $2.50 “maintenance fee,” he later found out. Oliver went through a similar ordeal when he was taken into custody again in February 2017.
Oliver proposes to represent a nationwide plaintiff Class consisting of all persons in the U.S. who, within four years of the filing of this action, were taken into custody by law enforcement and upon their release given a Numi Financial debit card containing any remaining funds from their inmate trust account after deduction of fees.
He is asking the court for an award of actual, compensatory and punitive damages, restitution of monies gained through the allegedly unlawful conduct, and injunctive relief barring Numi Financial from continuing the practice complained of here. He also seeks reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees.
Oliver is represented by attorney James A. Tabb of Zaveri Tabb APC and Eugene Y. Turin of McGuire Law PC.
The Numi Financial Unauthorized Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Anthony Oliver v. First Century Bank NA, et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-00620, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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19 thoughts onNumi Financial Skims Unauthorized Fees From Inmates’ Accounts, Class Action Says
They’ve been charging me since release by their card and adding between $3.73 and claiming that the business is taking this money all the way up to $76 for one transaction and after speaking with the business has one being a major national chain of Casey’s other being Pizza Hut they showed me proof they only received the money that I signed for but yet I got the documentation from numi Financial with different numbers somebody’s pocketing all this money
I’m interested in filing a claim I’m in SF Bay area they took my money and gave me this peace of shit card
Still occurring, just got incredibly embarrassed trying to make a small purchase at a convenience store. Apparently, the $10 I hadn’t spent was fully exhaust by high WEEKLY fees I never agreed to or was even made aware of. This should be considered
a crime.
John in
Phoenix, AZ
Happened to me in Missouri October 2017
Yeah the whole debit card scam is really nefarious. If you are taken in, turn yourself in even, with a bondsman standing there to get you out, the confiscate your cash, charge you like 15 or 20 bucks to set you up on a debit card that will then rob you constantly until you can spend or get your money off of it.
I even had the wonderful experience of their website not letting me make an account, saying information does not match whats on record… well, then their records are wrong.
Regardless, I hope these bottom feeding, parasite companies get sued into nonexistence, seriously.
This happened to me int he state of Arizona.
If you all are interested in being in a class action on these debit cards, I am recruiting for at least 15 more Plaintiffs.
Anthony
818-624-2504
It happened to me in march 2017, I was in jail 2 days and 3700 was put on card. Every purchase I made was subject to a 1.00 charge along with 3.00 charges for money back,regardless if it was ATM or at register . I called and explained that this was bs and was told someone would get back to me yet haven’t received any correspondence .how can I be included in this settlement
Hi Layne
Did it happen to you in Georgia? Or was it another state?
Plaintiff Anthony Oliver
(818) 624-2504 – Direct Cell
Layne
I am trying to locate you through our resources but cant locate you. I need more Plaintiffs. If interested, please don’t hesitate to call me.
Anthony
818-624-2504
the same thing is happening in other prisons in Nj the county jails it happened to my husband a couple of times at two different counties
Yep..happen to me in January 2017 its bs…
Hi Michelle
What state did this occur in with you? I am the Plaintiff
Plaintiff Anthony Oliver
(818) 624-2504 – Direct Cell
Where did it happen?
Anthony