Citibank Lawsuit: New York's Wire-Fraud Case, a New Pixel Class Action and What Customers Get
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As of September 30, 2026, we found no open Citibank settlement taking claims. The Citibank lawsuit most people mean is New York's: on January 30, 2024 the state Attorney General sued Citibank, N.A. for refusing to reimburse customers whose accounts were drained by unauthorized wire transfers. A federal judge ruled in January 2025 that consumer wire transfers are covered by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act; Citi appealed, and the Second Circuit was set to hear argument on April 6, 2026. We could not find a decision. Separately, a new Citibank class action in California federal court says citi.com let third-party tracking pixels read visitors' browsing. None of the active cases has a settlement, a fund or a claim form.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What New York Says Citi Did
New York's complaint is about account takeovers. According to the Attorney General, scammers got into Citi customers' online banking, changed passwords, switched on online wire transfers, pooled money from several accounts into one and sent it out “in minutes” — and Citi's systems did not flag and stop it. The office says Citi then left victims on lengthy phone holds, told them to visit a branch and sign special affidavits, and used those statements to blame them and deny their claims.
The legal core is the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. Under it, banks must reimburse customers for money lost through unauthorized electronic payments, and New York says Citi “illegally exploited a narrow exception” for wires to refuse. Citi's answer is that wire transfers are expressly excluded from the Act and are governed instead by UCC Article 4A, which it says it complied with. These are allegations; no court has ruled on whether Citi broke the law.
Case Details
New York's wire-fraud case: The People of the State of New York v. Citibank, N.A., No. 1:24-cv-00659-JPO, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, before Judge Paul Oetken. Filed January 30, 2024. Citi moved to dismiss on April 2, 2024; on January 21, 2025 the court granted that motion in part and denied it in part, holding that consumer wire transfers are covered by the Act. On April 22, 2025 the judge certified the question for an immediate appeal and stayed the case. The Second Circuit agreed on September 3, 2025 to hear it; Citi filed its opening brief on November 10, 2025, backed by bank trade groups, and argument was scheduled for April 6, 2026.
Pixel tracking: Herrera v. Citigroup Inc., No. 2:26-cv-08905, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, reported September 5, 2026.
Prime-rate antitrust: Normandin v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 3:25-cv-01749, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, filed October 16, 2025 against seven banks including Citibank (see our JPMorgan Chase lawsuit guide for the lead defendant).
Shareholders: In re Citigroup Securities Litigation, No. 1:20-cv-09132 (S.D.N.Y., Judge Preska), over alleged misstatements about risk management and internal controls, was dismissed on March 24, 2023; the court refused an amended complaint on November 13, 2025, and the plaintiffs appealed on December 12, 2025.
Merchants and employees: Citi is among the banks sued with Visa and Mastercard in the long-running interchange fee litigation, a merchant case; the injunctive-relief class settlement was preliminarily approved on June 9, 2026, with a fairness hearing set for November 16, 2026. Former Citi employees in Greece are pursuing pension claims in Athens courts, where a further claim was filed June 9, 2026 with a hearing set for December 11, 2026.
Status: Appeal Pending, No Settlement, No Claim Form
Herrera v. Citigroup — early stage. A proposed California class action, reported September 5, 2026. As of September 30, 2026 no class has been certified and nothing is payable.
Prime-rate case — pending. Filed October 16, 2025 against seven banks, Citibank among them. No settlement that we could find.
Regulators — paid and closed. The CFPB's 2023 order over Armenian-American card applicants was paid and then ended three years early, in October 2025. The July 10, 2024 Federal Reserve and OCC penalties went to the government. For scale: across every matter it discloses, Citigroup estimated at June 30, 2026 a reasonably possible loss beyond its reserves of up to about $1.2 billion.
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Who Each Case Covers
New York's case is brought by the state, not by a class. It asks for restitution for victims “who were denied reimbursement in the last six years” — in practice New York Citi customers whose accounts were taken over and wired out. There is nothing to join. The Attorney General asks anyone who lost money after scammers hacked into online or mobile banking, at Citi or any other bank, to report it to the office's Consumer Frauds Bureau.
Herrera v. Citigroup proposes a class of California consumers who accessed and used citi.com from July 22, 2025 onward. Proposed means not certified: no one is in a class yet, and there is nothing to sign up for.
The prime-rate case alleges the banks colluded for more than 30 years to fix interest rates on consumer and small-business loans. A recent consumer settlement, over robocalls, covered people who were not current or former Citibank account holders and got a prerecorded call about a past-due credit account between August 15, 2014 and July 31, 2024. Its claim window closed December 20, 2024.
Does Any Citi Customer Get Money?
The money question that matters for most people is the New York appeal. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act requires a bank to investigate a disputed transfer and, if fraud is found, reimburse losses above certain thresholds. Under UCC Article 4A, by contrast, a bank that proves it accepted a wire in good faith under a commercially reasonable security procedure the customer agreed to does not have to refund it. Which rule governs consumer wires is exactly what the Second Circuit is deciding. Its answer sets the rule; it does not itself pay anyone.
Citibank Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
January 30, 2024 — New York Sues Citibank
The Attorney General alleges Citi failed to protect customers from account takeovers and illegally denied reimbursement for unauthorized wire transfers. The case is filed in federal court in Manhattan.
- 2
July 10, 2024 — $135.6 Million in Regulator Fines
The Federal Reserve ($60.6 million) and the OCC fine Citigroup over insufficient progress fixing data quality management under their 2020 orders. The money goes to regulators.
- 3
January 21, 2025 — Judge Says Wires Are Covered
Judge Paul Oetken partly denies Citi's motion to dismiss, holding that consumer wire transfers fall under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. On April 22, 2025 he lets Citi appeal and pauses the case.
- 4
October 2025 — Armenian-American Order Ends Early
The CFPB terminates its 2023 consent order three years ahead of schedule, after Citi paid the $24.5 million penalty and $1,370,207.16 in redress. On October 16, 2025, borrowers separately sue seven banks, Citibank among them, over prime rates.
- 5
April 6, 2026 — Second Circuit Argument
The appeals court was set to hear argument on whether the Act reaches consumer wire fraud. As of September 30, 2026, we found no decision.
- 6
September 2026 — Pixel-Tracking Class Action
Herrera v. Citigroup Inc. (C.D. Cal., No. 2:26-cv-08905) alleges citi.com let third parties intercept California visitors' browsing since July 22, 2025. No active Citi case has a settlement.
Three Scams That Use Citi's Name
New York's lawsuit reads like a manual of how Citi customers actually lose money. Watch for these:
A “Citi” text with a link
In one case the Attorney General describes, a customer got a text that appeared to be from Citi and clicked the link. Days later her password had been changed, online wire transfers switched on, $70,000 moved from savings to checking and $40,000 wired out. Do not use links in texts; open the Citi app or type the address yourself.
“Your account is suspended — call this number”
Another customer found a suspension message in her online account, called the number it gave, and was told the caller would send her “Citi codes” to verify activity. $35,000 was gone. A one-time code is a key to your account: never read it to anyone who called you or whose number came from a message. Call the number on the back of your card.
“Claim your Citibank settlement”
There is no claim form in New York's case, the pixel case or the prime-rate case. The robocall settlement closed December 20, 2024, and the Armenian-American redress was paid by check under the 2023 order. A site or caller asking for your online banking login, Social Security number or a fee to “release” a Citibank payment is not a settlement administrator. For scams sent through Zelle, see our Zelle lawsuit guide.
Citibank Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there a Citibank class action settlement I can file a claim in?
Not as of September 30, 2026 — we found none open. One recent consumer settlement, $29.5 million over robocalls to people who were not Citibank customers, stopped taking claims on December 20, 2024. The active cases — New York's wire-fraud suit, the California pixel class action and the prime-rate antitrust suit — have no settlement. Our open settlements list tracks claims you can still file.
What is the New York Attorney General's Citibank lawsuit about?
Unauthorized wire transfers. New York alleges Citi's online security let scammers take over accounts, that Citi misled customers about their rights, and that it denied reimbursement by relying on a narrow exception for wires in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. Citi argues wire transfers are excluded from the Act and governed by UCC Article 4A, which it says it followed. The case is The People of the State of New York v. Citibank, N.A., No. 1:24-cv-00659 (S.D.N.Y.).
Did a court order Citi to refund wire-fraud victims?
No. On January 21, 2025 Judge Paul Oetken held that consumer wire transfers are covered by the Act, which kept the core of the case alive. He then let Citi appeal right away and paused the case. The Second Circuit agreed on September 3, 2025 to hear the appeal, with argument set for April 6, 2026; we found no decision as of September 30, 2026. Refunds would follow only if New York ultimately wins or the case settles.
What is the Citigroup pixel-tracking lawsuit?
Herrera v. Citigroup Inc., No. 2:26-cv-08905 in the Central District of California. It alleges tracking tools on citi.com let third parties intercept visitors' communications and reveal their searches and interests without consent, and it relies on the Federal Wiretap Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act and other California law. It proposes a California class of people who used the site from July 22, 2025. These are allegations; no class has been certified.
Is Citibank part of the Zelle lawsuit?
Not as a defendant in the two Zelle cases we track. New York's Zelle suit is against Early Warning Services, the company that runs Zelle, and the CFPB's dropped suit named Early Warning Services, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Details are on our Zelle lawsuit page. Citi's own fight with New York is about wire transfers.
What were the $135.6 million Citigroup fines in 2024?
On July 10, 2024 the Federal Reserve fined Citigroup $60.6 million, and with the OCC's penalty the total was about $135.6 million, for insufficient progress fixing data quality management under consent orders from 2020. Citi's August 2026 quarterly report still describes remediating those orders as a multiyear effort. The penalties are paid to regulators; customers receive nothing from them.
What happened to the Armenian-American discrimination case?
The CFPB's 2023 order alleged that from 2015 through 2021 Citi denied certain credit cards to applicants it suspected were of Armenian descent, based on surnames ending in “ian” or “yan.” Citi paid a $24.5 million penalty and $1,370,207.16 to affected customers. The CFPB ended the order three years early, in October 2025. There is no new payment and no claim.
A scammer emptied my Citi account. What should I do?
Report it to Citi in writing right away and keep copies of everything, including any affidavit you are asked to sign. File a police report. If you live in New York, the Attorney General asks people who lost money to online account takeovers to report it to its Consumer Frauds Bureau. Unauthorized electronic payments are covered by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act; whether wires are too is the question on appeal, so dispute a wire in writing anyway.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.