Bilyonaryo couple Jorge and Stella Araneta have sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. for allegedly selling jewelry and other valuables they stored in safe deposit boxes.
According to a Bloomberg report, the American banking giant auctioned off the multibillion-dollar gems for just above $552,700, or a mere 5% of its value.
The Aranetas claimed that they fell behind on payment for the boxes because JPMorgan sent the renewal notice on March 2016 to a post office box in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which meant the couple never saw the mails.
Prior to 2016, the couple received invoices and bank statements for the safe they leased since 2006 at their addresses in Manhattan, New York and Miami, Florida.
JPMorgan said in the notice that the two deposit boxes would be drilled open and the contents removed if the Araneta failed to settle payments within 60 days.
The couple said they paid the overdue fees and had been assured their prized possessions remain in a secure location in February 2017. However, they later learned that the jewels were sold by the bank 10 months later at a dismal bargain.
Responding to the complaint, Bloomberg quoted the bank as saying that Stella Araneta failed to pay the dues for “some boxes for a number of years” and it sent letters to addresses it had on file.
While JPMorgan acknowledged that some payments were made on the boxes in 2019, it said that the couple were also warned that their contents would be auctioned off if dues weren’t settled in full.
The case is now pending before a district court in Manhattan.