Bank of America has been hit with a new class action over its cash sweep program, with a New Jersey resident accusing the bank of automatically sweeping money into accounts with unreasonably low interest rates.

Robert Campton Jr. alleged that Bank of America and its subsidiary, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc., offered interest rates between 0.01% and 0.15% on money placed in its cash sweep program, despite receiving "substantial" returns on the cash.

"While asserting that it operates the sweep program as its clients’ agent, Merrill allows the affiliate banks to retain nearly all the returns its clients’ cash generates, redounding to the benefit of Bank of America," Campton said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The lawsuit targets the Merrill Lynch Bank Deposit Program and the Merrill Lynch Direct Deposit Program—collectively referred to as the “Sweep Program”—that automatically sweep cash from investment accounts into interest-bearing deposit accounts at affiliated banks, all of which are subsidiaries of Bank of America. There is a “significant difference” between what the affiliated banks earn on the swept deposits and the interest paid to clients, according to the complaint.

Vanguard and Fidelity, have secured 3.90% and 4.50% interest rates, respectively, on their own cash sweep programs, which are comparable to Bank of America's, Campton alleged

Although Bank of America is bound under the Investment Advisers Act and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest to serve clients’ best interests and disclose any potential conflicts, the bank failed to disclose that it created the sweep program to enrich itself, Campton said.

Campton’s case joins a similar lawsuit against Bank of America from wealth management firm, Saffron Capital Corp., which was also filed in the New York federal court in October.

In August, Bank of America disclosed in a quarterly filing to the SEC that it faces potential risks related to “the rates paid on uninvested cash in investment advisory accounts that is swept into interest-paying bank deposits.”

Consumers across the country have also filed lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo over how they operate their own cash sweep programs.

A Bank of America representative declined to comment on Campton’s case. Counsel for Campton didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the complaint: