Federal officials have sued Capital One, N.A., and its parent holding company, Capital One Financial Corp., for cheating millions of its customers out of more than $2 billion in interest.  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) alleges Capital One promised consumers that its flagship “360 Savings” account provided one of the nation’s “best” and “highest” interest rates, but the bank froze the interest rate at a low level and then created another savings account product with higher interest without telling its customers, according to a release from the bureau. The new savings account product paid out as much as 14 times what the original savings accounts did. 

The CFPB alleges that Capital One obscured the new product from its 360 Savings accountholders and cost millions of consumers more than $2 billion in lost interest payments. The federal lawsuit seeks to stop the companies’ unlawful conduct, provide redress for harmed consumers, and impose civil money penalties, which would be paid into the CFPB’s victims relief fund. 

“Banks should not be baiting people with promises they can’t live up to,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement.