Bungling Bankers or Savvy Swindlers? The City’s $20M Crypto Caper and Citibank’s Wobbly Watchdogs

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  • Michael Zidell sues Citibank for $20M over crypto scam losses. 💸😱
  • Lawsuit claims bank ignored 43 suspicious wire transfers. 🚨🤦‍♂️
  • The scam involved a fake NFT investment tied to romance fraud. ❤️💔🎨

On a remarkably unlucky day—June 24, 2025—one Michael Zidell strolled into Manhattan federal court, tut-tutting angrily. He’d brought with him a whopper: a lawsuit against Citibank, asking for $20 million in damages, which for most people is only slightly less than a small country’s annual budget.
His complaint? That the well-paid folk at Citibank did what bankers do best: absolutely nothing! They let 43—yes, forty-three—suspicious wire transfers slip right under their gleaming noses, all leading straight to a crypto scam. Allegedly, Mr. Zidell’s life savings waved goodbye as the bank looked on, sipping tea and polishing their monocles.

The scam, called “pig butchering” (don’t worry, no bacon involved), is where tricksters feed you sweet nothings, fatten you up on fake romance, and then—CHOP!—your investments vanish. All the while the bank’s fraud detectors seemed to be taking a very, very long nap. Zidell shipped off 43 wire transfers totaling $20 million, which is either devotion or the most expensive online dating subscription in history. The complaint claims Citibank didn’t even try to chase down the dastardly crypto villains.

Suspicious Transactions Ignored, Lawsuit Claims

The drama thickens. According to Zidell’s filing, Citibank’s fraud alerts were about as sharp as a soggy slice of bread. Giant wads of cash floated out of his account to foreign lands, often ringed by red flags so big they could have been seen from the moon. But, as the complaint tells it, the bank’s safety mechanisms were less “watchdog” and more “dozing dachshund.”

This gripping tale began when Zidell got a phone call from a “romantic interest”—a title which, in hindsight, should have come with hazard pay. Swayed by whispery promises and golden NFT riches, Zidell sent wire after wire, straight into the digital pockets of crooks. The lawsuit says Citibank broke bank rules by failing to press the giant red “maybe-look-into-this” button. Not to mention other banks have also let their popcorn spill while watching this kind of fraud unfold. 🕵️‍♂️🍿

Broader Implications for Banking and Crypto Scams

No tale of modern woe is complete without facts and figures: Apparently, in 2024 alone, folks lost over $3.7 billion to crypto shenanigans. Romance scams? Practically half-time entertainment for fraudsters. Victims are left declaring bankruptcy both financially and emotionally, often feeling about as cherished as last week’s expired milk.

Zidell’s suit isn’t just about the money (although, let’s be honest, the money is quite nice); it’s likely to set a legal precedent for how much snooping banks must do when their customers are beguiled by digital dream peddlers. The pressure on banks could soon reach “boiling kettle” levels, with everyone scrambling to build better fraud-zapping robots before crypto crooks invent the next scam.

The adventure here is not only a warning for would-be crypto investors (“Do your homework, and don’t fall in love with cartoon avatars!”), but a pointed nudge at banks: Please wake up before the next digital Houdini act.

Ongoing Legal Proceedings

And so, the chessboard is set: Judge Tanya S. Chutkan presides, and the world waits for Citibank to say…well, anything at all, really. No trial date, but wallets everywhere watch with bated breath. Zidell’s lawyers claim Citibank’s nonchalance was more damaging than a chocolate teapot in a heatwave. Citibank, meanwhile, is expected to claim they did everything by the book, even if that book was “How To Spot Trouble Only When It’s Too Late.”

As this sausage (or pig) gets made, regulators may soon toughen their rules. Crypto fraud’s growing, and soon banks might need fraud-detecting dogs with sharper instincts than ever before. In the meantime, let Zidell’s tale serve as the latest wild story in the wild, wild west of digital investing—a place where dreams, and occasionally, $20 million, vanish at the click of a mouse. 🐷🏦💻

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2025-06-26 21:13