A New York City ATM was shut down by Chase Bank after a woman making a withdrawal reportedly received cash stamped with a swastika and Nazi iconography, Newsweek reported.
The woman in question, Upper East Side resident Robyn Roth-Moise, a 65-year-old Jewish photographer, took to social media on Saturday to share pictures of the 100-dollar bills she pulled from an ATM at a branch at 86th Street and York Avenue.
As shown in the pictures, a blue-ink swastika and what seems to be a Nazi eagle are visible on the bills.
The story was widely reported on by New York news outlets and raised questions as to how this happened.
"I just wanted the money out of my hands," Roth-Moise told The New York Post. "I was deeply disturbed — how did it happen? How did the money get into the machine without anyone noticing it?"
@East86th @JulieMenin @RepMaloney @SenSchumer @NYCMayor #Nazi symbols being circulated on the uppereastside @Gus4NY @timmintonNY @nytimes @nypost @BenKallos @NYDailyNews @SeawrightForNY @UESPatch money from the ATM this morning. #HateSpeech @Chase @SecretService pic.twitter.com/A0ij2MGijk
— NYCRobyn (@NYCRobyn) January 8, 2022
Roth-Moise soon brought the bills back to one of the branches. According to the branch manager, the money was likely deposited by another customer and said that the US Secret Service - which, in addition to providing security for the president, is also in charge of dealing with counterfeit and other currency-related crimes - would likely get involved, according to Newsweek.
New York City Councilwoman Julie Menin, after seeing the tweets, reached out to Chase to have the ATM shut down for now.
"Antisemitism must be called out immediately and won't be tolerated in any form in our community or city," Menin told the news site Upper East Site.
"Horrible that a Jewish NYer--or anyone--would have to confront this when simply going to the ATM," tweeted Manhattan Borough president Mark Levine. "We need accountability from Chase on how this happened."
Truly disgusting. This occurred at an ATM on the Upper East Side. Thankful that Ms. Roth-Moise came forward. Horrible that a Jewish NYer--or anyone--would have to confront this when simply going to the ATM.We need accountability from Chase on how this happened. https://t.co/KH5Lu8OBEU
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) January 10, 2022
Simon Weisenthal Center's Rabbi Abraham Cooper also said he was contacting the bank to ask they launch an internal investigation, The New York Post reported.
For Roth-Moise, who is just one generation away from the horrors of World War II, this was the first instance of antisemitism she's experienced in all her years in the city.
“I just want other people to be aware that antisemitism is out there, even in the confines of my little UES neighborhood,” she told The New York Post. “It’s there. Are you really safe?”