Houston doctor sues JPMorgan Chase claiming she was barred from cashing $16,000 check because she is Black

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A doctor in Houston, Texas is suing JPMorgan Chase Bank after claiming that she was discriminated against and denied service because of her skin colour.

Dr Malika Mitchell-Stewart told KTRK that she had recently finished her residency and that she was trying to open an account and deposit a $16,000 check she had received as a signing bonus from her new job at Valley Oaks Medical Group.

But in a lawsuit, she claims that the staff at Chase’s First Colony Bank asked odd questions about the authenticity of the check and about her work as a medical professional.

“As soon as Dr Mitchell-Stewart showed employees at First Colony Branch her Check, they immediately treated her like a criminal,” the legal filing states.

Dr Mitchell-Stewart said the bank staff rejected her and that they claimed that the check was fraudulent.

“It was an unfortunate situation. They took my special moment away. I felt like a criminal. I’ve never done anything wrong,” Dr Mitchell-Stewart said. “In order to get Texas medical license or a medical license at all, you have to have a clean record. You have to go to school for so many years, and they just didn’t care. They didn’t respect that. They didn’t respect my credentials.”

“Dr Mitchell-Stewart showed proof of identification. She showed proof that she was a doctor by presenting a business card. She even called employees from her medical group to confirm who she was,” her lawyer, Justin Moore, told KTRK.

“We take this matter very seriously, and are investigating the situation,” Chase told the outlet. “We have reached out to Dr Mitchell-Stewart to better understand what happened and apologize for her experience.”