Finding in favor of a JPMorgan Chase Bank, a federal judge in Chicago this week said that, when seeking to hold a bank liable for wiring funds to an account that didn't match the intended recipient's name, a plaintiff must show the bank had "actual knowledge of the mismatch."

The case stemmed from Galina Nedialkova, a real estate investor and manager at GN Pro Group and Viga Chicago, who purchased a condominium for approximately $150,000 in April 2019. As she was finalizing the deal, Nedialkova received an email from a paralegal with the real estate law firm she retained, Midgal & Associates, with information and instructions to send the money to an escrow account. Two days later, on the day of closing, Nedialkova claims she received a "corrected" email purportedly from the same paralegal directing the plaintiff to transfer the funds to the same recipient but under a different account number.