A troubling scenario has unfolded in Downers Grove, Illinois, where a local family’s ordeal with Chase Bank has drawn attention. The I-Team is delving into a case involving a college student’s funds that were wrongly flagged as fraudulent, leaving him without access to money he urgently needed.
The student’s mother narrated a frustrating tale of how her son, who plays for a club hockey team, was unable to access the funds critical for his participation. The family faced nearly a year’s wait, trying to recover more than $4,000, which had been deposited into the hockey team’s account.
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The issue began when the deposited checks were suddenly marked as fraudulent, locking the funds and leaving the family in a bind. Kelly Lyn Kelly, a resident of Downers Grove, reached out after seeing reports by the I-Team about other similar incidents involving frozen bank accounts.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. In recent weeks, at least three Chase Bank customers reported their accounts mistakenly flagged for fraud, leading to their funds being frozen. Fortunately, after the I-Team’s intervention, these customers saw their accounts unlocked and their money released.
Kelly Lyn Kelly of Downers Grove called after she saw recent I-Team reports on frozen bank accounts.
Three different Chase customers said their accounts were mistakenly flagged for fraud and locked. They all got their money released after the I-Team’s inquiries.
Kelly’s son, Brendan, is the treasurer of his club hockey team at Miami University. He’s found himself in a similar situation for almost year, after depositing checks for his team.
The checks, totaling $4,250, were frozen after Brendan made the mobile deposit in May of 2025.
The account he put them in, which had $1,300, was also locked. That $1,300 did get released in June of 2025, but the check deposits remained restricted.
“They’re legit; they’ve been cashed by Chase,” Kelly said.
Chase says the university was not verifying the checks, but Kelly says she’s tried to connect Chase representatives to university and hockey officials who could verify them, along with her son’s position as the treasurer. An affidavit was also submitted.
The money, she said, was desperately needed for new team jerseys.
“They are operating on a shoe-string budget,” Kelly said.
Chase told the I-Team, “After further review, and information provided by our customer, we validated the checks, returned the funds and regret the delay. To protect customers from fraud we regularly review checks and deposits to ensure they’re valid. To avoid delays, it’s important customers follow proper procedures for endorsing and depositing paper checks.”
That $4,250 is now in the hands of Kelly and the hockey team.
“I just counted over 32 times of communication, either email or phone, to try to get this resolved. And you did it with one email or phone call. Literally the next day after our interview they called, and the following day after that they resolved it,” Kelly said.
After the first investigation into frozen Chase accounts, the I-Team received an overwhelming response from people claiming they had the same issue.
In a previous report, Chase said that protecting accounts is its top priority. And like all banks, they occasionally act when they identify “concerning transactions” and take action to protect customers and their money.
This case with the checks was slightly different. But to avoid an account freeze, experts suggest notifying your bank before withdrawing or moving large sums of money.
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