Attorney General James claims EWS violated New York law and is asking for restitution and damages for all New Yorkers harmed by scams on Zelle. “I look forward to getting justice for the New Yorkers who suffered because of Zelle’s security failures,” James said in the press release.

An investigation by the attorney general's office revealed that Zelle lacks safety features that would have protected users from scammers, who have stolen over $1 billion between 2017 and 2023.

The state of New York sued Zelle’s parent company Wednesday, accusing the firm behind the electronic payment platform of failing to adopt sufficient safeguards to protect consumers from fraud.