NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued Early Warning Services, LLC (EWS), operator of the Zelle payment network, alleging it failed to protect users from rampant fraud that stole more than $1 billion between 2017 and 2023, James' office announced.
An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General found Zelle was launched without critical safeguards, allowing scammers to easily open accounts, impersonate trusted entities, and exploit the platform’s instant, irreversible transfers. EWS—owned by major banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, and Wells Fargo—allegedly knew these flaws made Zelle uniquely vulnerable yet failed to enforce meaningful anti-fraud rules or adopt fixes it had developed as early as 2019, James’ office asserted.
The lawsuit, filed after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped a similar case in 2025, seeks restitution for New Yorkers, damages, and court orders requiring Zelle to implement and maintain strong anti-fraud protections.
“No one should be left to fend for themselves after falling victim to a scam,” said Attorney General James. “I look forward to getting justice for the New Yorkers who suffered because of Zelle’s security failures.”
Zelle has been tied to widespread scams, including one in which a fraudster posing as a Con Edison employee convinced a New York consumer to transfer nearly $1,500 to an account labeled “Coned Billing.” The victim’s bank refused to reverse the transaction.
The OAG alleges EWS misled consumers by marketing Zelle as safe while ignoring years of mounting fraud reports, enabling bad actors to remain on the network and continue targeting users.