Citigroup Inc. agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle claims by California Attorney General Jerry Brown that it siphoned funds from customers' credit card accounts from 1992 to 2003.
Citibank used a computer program to automatically remove positive balances from accounts without telling customers, Mr. Brown said Tuesday. The sweeps collected $14 million from clients nationally, including $1.6 million in California, he said.
The bank has already begun reviewing the transactions and refunding the money to its customers, Mr. Brown said.
Citigroup spokeswoman Shannon Bell said she had no immediate comment.
