JP Morgan Chase, once again

Last November, I posted here the article (click here) written by retired ambassador Reynaldo Arcilla on his travails with JP Morgan Chase Bank which appeared in BizNewsAsia and Malaya. In that article, the name of Alexandra Lichauco was mentioned.

Yesterday, I met the parents of Alexandra and they told me about their daughter finding Arcilla’s article in this blog and her exhange of letters with him. I’m posting here her letters to Ambassador Arcilla and to Tony Lopez, editor-in-chief of BizNewsAsia.

Dec. 4, 2005

Dear Ambassador Arcilla,

I currently reside in Seoul, South Korea together with my husband and children.

Through well-meaning friends, I received through e-mail a copy of your column Cross Hairs, the story of which was “JP Morgan Chase Depositors. Be (a) ware!” I understand that the article recently came out in BizNewsAsia and has apparently been circulating thru the Internet.

In your article, my name, Alexandra A. Lichauco, with address at 137 9th Street, Balete Drive (my parents home) was mentioned.

Your article further stated that two checks, which were in my name with the aforementioned address, drawn against your account at Chase New York were encashed sometime in April 2002.

You wrote that the checks were not yours and were unsigned. You also stated that that my name and the address given were obviously fictitious.

I’d like to state that I never received any check drawn from your account at Chase New York. Having said that, there is no way I could have encashed the checks mentioned in the article or deposited these checks into my account. I am extremely shocked that my name would be used for an unauthorized and illegal activity.

I cannot, however, understand why there was no attempt to investigate whether or not an Alexandra A. Lichauco in fact existed, whether there was a person with that name living at 137 9th Street, Balete Drive or whether or not this person did indeed withdraw funds from your account.

Although in April 2002, I was already living with my family in Makati City, any effort to verify the address given, would have enabled those investigating the matter to contact me through my parents.

Any investigation would have quickly shown that I had no part in your predicament and that, because my name was used for this illegal activity, I, too was a victim of the fraud perpetuated against you.

With the results of an investigation, I know you would have mentioned my name within the context of what had happened, in no way causing harm to my reputation.

In the spirit of fairness and to arrest any damage to my reputation that the article have inadvertently caused, I would like to ask that you publish this letter in its entirety in your next column and circulate it to your e-mail contacts.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

ALEXANDRA LICHAUCO-SMITH
9-22 Sungbuk-don, Sungbuk-gu
Seoul, Korea 136-021
E-mail:slichs@mns.com