“It’s been almost a month and we still don’t have our money. We’re broke and putting groceries on credit cards . . . .” That’s just one of many customer reviews posted about the mobile banking app offered by Beam Financial Inc. and founder Yinan Du – the defendants in a lawsuit filed today by the Federal Trade Commission.
According to the complaint, the Beam Financial defendants advertise their Beam banking app as a high-interest bank account offering “24/7” access to your money with “NO LOCKUP.” Beam Financial also says people can easily make an unlimited number of free transfers into and out of their Beam accounts at any time – with funds arriving in 3–5 business days. That’s a lie, according to the FTC’s lawsuit, which cites numerous complaints posted by frustrated and desperate people who are worried that Beam Financial has simply stolen their deposits