10 Y.O. Girl Earns $2K Selling Chickens At A Local Fair, But The Bank Holds Her Money Hostage For Over A Year

A 10-year-old girl made more than $2K selling chickens at her local county fair, but due to an error on the cheque, the bank refused to hand over her money. Kinley Maner sold six chickens, which she raised herself, for $2,100.

However, when her parents deposited the cheque, issued by the Small Stock Association, electronically, their bank suddenly closed Kinley's mom Kalli's account. "So we cashed it," J.R. Maner, Kinley's father, explained. "Didn't think it would be a big deal. And the next day, Chase closed Kalli's bank account."

In the process, Kinley's cheque was frozen. "I was a little bit upset because I deserved that money, and it was supposed to be mine," Kinley said.

Kallie Maner says the bank claimed that the cheque was suspicious because the phone number for the Small Stock Association was no longer valid. A whole year went by, and Kinley's parents continued to try, and resolve the matter with Chase Bank.

"Their ultimate response is that sorry, Kinley is not going to get her money back," J.R. said. "And there's nothing we can do unless we can verify that cheque."

"She's a 10-year-old girl who worked hard for this money," he added. "And we think that she deserves to get the money that she rightfully earned."

Kalli said the man who wrote the cheque has even gone into the bank on three different occasions to verify that his business is legitimate. "They said the only way to verify it is through that number on the phone," Kalli said.

It wasn't until Kinley's family reached out to KPHO's On Your Side that Chase Bank apologized and agreed to release Kinley's money overnight. "The funds have been returned, and we apologize to Kinley and her family for the delay," a spokesperson for the bank said.

"I was surprised when I got it, but I also was excited," Kinley said. The 10-year-old says that most of the money will be going into her college fund.