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Re: Fraud by CitiGroup, Costco was NOT at fault<br /> <br /> This is in reply to the complaint on 2017-02-14 at 9:27 PM (February 2017) by OfficerWally:<br /> <br /> I am very sorry that you were the victim of fraud perpetrated by CitiGroup in the spring and summer of 2016. Citi defrauded at least 2,000 US citizens (many were not customers) of at least $700 million dollars in that time, I'm sorry they got you. I hope you have repaired your credit score, many victims are still working on that.<br /> <br /> CitiGroup acted alone and Costco was in no way complicit, according to the US Consumer Protection Bureau and the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the settlement signed by CitiGroup.<br /> <br /> Costco's membership records were indeed used to perpetrate the fraud, without Costco's consent.<br /> <br /> I am sorry that Costco was not nicer on the telephone. They may have been fairly exhausted with all the calls at that time.<br /> <br /> Citi has been fined by US law enforcement and Citi has been forced to pay settlements and restitution to victims in the US in 2015, 2016, and 2017 for these consumer banking fraud activities, because they have been doing it repeatedly. They have also been fined by the SEC for futures market fraud on a massive scale. They have been sanctioned by the US Federal Reserve for fragrant noncompliance with their fractional reserve requirements and poor bookkeeping.<br /> <br /> Citi was also one of the three largest recipients of US taxpayer bailout money in 2006-2008, and they have not complied with the repayment terms.<br /> <br /> Nobody at CitiGroup has gone to jail, although they have paid over $1 billion dollars in fines and settlements since 2015 for credit card fraud.<br /> <br /> In the meantime, Costco probably has a secret settlement with CitiGroup and a gag order. That is to say, I suspect Costco sued CitiGroup for tens of millions of dollars, and CitiGroup paid off Costco on the condition that the settlement be kept secret. CitiGroup obtained records from Costco fraudulently and damaged Costco's reputation, and they probably paid for it. In millions of dollars.<br /> <br /> I wouldn't be surprised if Costco switches from Citi Visa cards to Bank of America cards in a year or two. The American Express switch was so recent that Costco probably doesn't want to confuse their customers right now, but Citi is going to get worse and worse until the executives start doing prison sentences, and Costco knows it.