In case of ATM that gave out $100s instead of $5s, Wichita women will pay back money

A Wichita mother and daughter who were sued after making more than 50 trips to an ATM that was dispensing $100 bills in place of fives have agreed to pay money back to the bank, according to court records.

Central National Bank filed a civil lawsuit against Christina C. Ochoa — and later amended it to include her mother, Christy L. Ochoa, as a defendant — after it says she quickly realized the glitch and made repeated withdrawals, most in the middle of the night, over five days in January.

Christy Ochoa took part in the scheme by driving her daughter to the ATM, located at 4838 W. Central in Wichita, so she could get the cash, the bank said in the lawsuit.

The ATM dispensed $14,120 to the women from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17 — nearly 10 times what it should have.

Contacted by The Eagle last month, the Ochoas claimed they received just $1,485 — the amount requested during the transactions — and that they wanted $5 bills to craft a “money cake” for an acquaintance who’d just had a baby. They made repeated withdrawals, they claimed, because they couldn’t choose the exact number of fives they needed from the ATM and the bank was closed so they couldn’t get the bills from a teller.

Before filing the lawsuit, Central had asked Christina Ochoa to return the money. She refused.

The Ochoas now have agreed to repay the bank $12,643.49 plus interest, as well as the costs and expenses Central incurred in connection with the lawsuit, according to a consent judgment signed by the women and filed in Sedgwick County District Court on Thursday. They also agreed that the bank could have proved with “clear and convincing evidence each and every” allegation in the lawsuit had the case proceeded to trial, the consent judgment says.

“We are glad Christina and Christy Ochoa acknowledged what happened and that they are planning to repay their obligations,” Mike Munson, attorney for the bank, said by e-mail.

Christy Ochoa refused to speak to The Eagle when reached by phone Friday. Her daughter did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

This story was originally published March 2, 2018 at 1:39 PM with the headline "In case of ATM that gave out $100s instead of $5s, Wichita women will pay back money."