City of Jacksonville employees are upset because they say their benefits are bouncing.

Those enrolled in a certain medical plan say they've been getting bad refund checks since May and are still waiting for their money.

The city says it is now actively investigating the contractor managing those accounts, which hold money employees choose to have deducted from their paychecks.

It's unclear how many city employees are enrolled in the benefits program, but some people say the number is in the thousands.

"I was in an accident on Easter Sunday, and in the beginning of May, I cashed some receipts, received a check," city employee Joshua Askew said. "When I deposited the check, it came back to me. I was charged a processing fee for the city's bounced check."

Askew, who works for Jacksonville Fire-Rescue, said he's upset that the money he earned and had been saving for years isn't available.

"I was completely shocked," he said. "This is not just my account, this is the account for all the employees for the city of Jacksonville that have flexible spending. Our fund and all of our money is gone."

City employees have the choice to put pre-taxe money into a savings fund, which can be accessed for medical and childcare expenses. The city offers it but uses a group called EBS Atlanta as a contractor to manage the accounts. Last month the checks bounced and the debit cards issued for account holders stopped working.

"Both parties are at fault," Askew said.

The city sent out an email to those enrolled saying, "(The city) did not issue or authorize the issuance of such checks and is actively investigating the matter."

According to the minutes from the City Council agenda, officials said they are considering legal action against the Georgia-based company.

"If they're not paying, then there's something wrong," said attorney Dale Carson, a former FBI agent.

He said the case is something the FBI may investigate because a lot of people and money is involved.

"We just don't know at this juncture whether or not it's just a glitch in the system somehow or the money's not available or there is no criminal intent or there is criminal intent," Carson said. "But certainly individuals that get checks can't be cashed. A check is an obligation to pay."

A statement from the mayor's office reads: "We anticipate having a new contract in place by the end of next week with a new administrator. As soon as the contract is in place, we should be able to let the employees know when to expect a new flexible spending debit card. Also, they will know when they can start filing for reimbursements."

EBS Atlanta was unavailable for comment Friday via phone.