New York CNN —Citibank illegally discriminated against Armenian Americans for years by singling them out on credit card applications based on their surnames, a federal regulator alleged on Wednesday. “Citi treated Armenian Americans as criminals who were likely to commit fraud,” the CFPB alleged. Citi applied more stringent criteria to suspected Armenian Americans’ applications, including “denying them outright,” placing blocks on the accounts and requiring additional information, according to the regulator. To punish Citi for the alleged discrimination, the CFPB ordered the bank to pay $25.9 million in fines and consumer redress. “Regrettably, in trying to thwart a well-documented Armenian fraud ring operating in certain parts of California, a few employees took impermissible actions,” Citi spokesperson Karen Kearns said in a statement to CNN.

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Persons: “, “ Regrettably, ”, Karen Kearns Organizations: New, New York CNN, Citibank, Armenian, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Citi “, Citi, ” Citi, CNN Locations: New York, California