ATLANTA — For nearly six months now, Truist Bank has frozen a more than $30,000 check that a Georgia woman deposited in her business account.
“It’s like, are you going to keep that money forever?” Kristine Knipp told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray.
In November, Knipp opened a new business account at Truist and deposited the $30,088.90 check from the IRS.
That IRS check was something called an employee retention credit. It was a pandemic relief payment for her ballroom dancing studios.
For 30 years, she owned Ballroom Dance Club in metro Atlanta.
Knipp sold the business during the pandemic, but did not get the tax credit until last year.
“It’s money that I had plans for to help continue to pay off some bills that I incurred during the 2020 pandemic, having two businesses in metro Atlanta,” she told Gray.
Instead, Truist closed her account and held onto the money.
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In repeated letters, month after month, Truist wrote Knipp the same thing: “Truist exercised its right to freeze your account until the validity of the check and ownership of the funds are verified.”
“I have plans for that money. I’m retired. I have things I need to do with it,” Knipp said.
Channel 2 Action News Investigates has reported before on this happening with other banks.
Last June, Citibank held onto social media influencer Rich Journey’s $5,000 check for three months.
“They wouldn’t even tell me why the account was blocked,” Journey said.
Online bank Greendot locked Shelley Camp’s account for a fraud alert on her IRS refund.
“It’s a big mess. It’s a big mess,” Camp said.
In 2023, Chase blocked Lois White’s student loan refund check, also from the federal government.
“I feel like a criminal, like I’ve done something wrong,” White said.
Knipp said she spends hours each week trying to resolve this. She’s filed complaints with the CFPB and FDIC. But the money still has not been returned to her or the IRS.
“All you have is your time and your treasure, and they’ve used up both,” she said.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to Truist, which said in a statement: “We’re working diligently to help resolve the matter.”
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