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.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office picked up the lawsuit after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped a similar one in March.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Early Warning Services, or EWS, alleging the parent company of Zelle failed to implement certain safeguards, causing "catastrophic harm to millions of consumers" and allowing fraudsters to steal more than $1 billion from 2017 to 2023.