22/04/2026
A Black U.S. Air Force veteran from Michigan, Sauntore Thomas, became the center of controversy after a bank incident following his legal victory in a racial discrimination case. After receiving $99,000 in settlement cheques, Thomas attempted to deposit them at a local branch of TCF Bank in Livonia. Instead of verifying the cheques through internal systems, staff questioned their legitimacy and called the police.
Four officers arrived and questioned Thomas at the bank, even though his attorney, Deborah Gordon, confirmed over the phone that the funds were legitimate. Despite this, the bank refused the deposit and filed a police report. Thomas was neither arrested nor charged. He immediately closed his account and later deposited the same cheques at Chase Bank in Detroit, where they were accepted and cleared overnight.
Following public backlash, TCF Bank issued an apology, acknowledging that involving law enforcement was inappropriate. Thomas has since filed a second racial discrimination lawsuit, this time against the bank, bringing renewed attention to concerns about bias in financial institutions.
