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Financial manager dodging calls and withholding funds.

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Mrnyc3guy

Junior Member
A friend who won a malpractice suit after a surgeon high on cocaine botched her heart surgery was advised by her lawyer to entrust her settlement funds with his friend who is a banker. She has been attempting to get access to some funds to move and purchase a house for a few weeks now and the banker will not answer her calls or return them. I know it all seems shady to me but she is very naive and just happy to be alive at this point. She is absolutely being bamboozled but what are her legal options and what is her best course of action to get her money out of his grasp? She has already missed out on two houses she loved and the stress is taking its toll. I would like to get a durable poa so i can handle the stressful things for her. Please help. Thank you.
 


quincy

Senior Member
A friend who won a malpractice suit after a surgeon high on cocaine botched her heart surgery was advised by her lawyer to entrust her settlement funds with his friend who is a banker. She has been attempting to get access to some funds to move and purchase a house for a few weeks now and the banker will not answer her calls or return them. I know it all seems shady to me but she is very naive and just happy to be alive at this point. She is absolutely being bamboozled but what are her legal options and what is her best course of action to get her money out of his grasp? She has already missed out on two houses she loved and the stress is taking its toll. I would like to get a durable poa so i can handle the stressful things for her. Please help. Thank you.
What is the name of your friend's state? Is it New York, as your user name implies is the state of your own residence?

Is the banker connected to a bank (I would assume)? She can contact the bank.

If her attorney knows the banker, she can contact her attorney.

Her legal options depend on facts that you, as a friend, are probably not able to relate to us in detail (or even should relate to us, if you are able). Your friend could post to this forum but she should try contacting the bank and her attorney first.
 

Mrnyc3guy

Junior Member
What is the name of your friend's state? Is it New York, as your user name implies is the state of your own residence?

Is the banker connected to a bank (I would assume)? She can contact the bank.

If her attorney knows the banker, she can contact her attorney.

Her legal options depend on facts that you, as a friend, are probably not able to relate to us in detail (or even should relate to us, if you are able). Your friend could post to this forum but she should try contacting the bank and her attorney first.
Sorry for omitting, she is in Kansas. The problem is that her lawyer seems to be in on the dodging and the banker is VP at the bank and the president is also a friend of the lawyer. The fact that he refuses to simply return her calls really worries me and is kind of a tell for how the situation is going. Every time she attempts to talk to anyone at the bank she ends up talking to a secretary and no calls are ever returned.

Thank you for your reply. She is not in great health at the moment so i am trying to do some digging for her.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Sorry for omitting, she is in Kansas. The problem is that her lawyer seems to be in on the dodging and the banker is VP at the bank and the president is also a friend of the lawyer. The fact that he refuses to simply return her calls really worries me and is kind of a tell for how the situation is going. Every time she attempts to talk to anyone at the bank she ends up talking to a secretary and no calls are ever returned.

Thank you for your reply. She is not in great health at the moment so i am trying to do some digging for her.
Might be time to show up at the bank in person.
 

Mrnyc3guy

Junior Member
Get a POA and head there yourself. Or, heck, even you showing up in person with her on your cell phone could work.
I really wish I could but I am in Arizona. I suggested sending a certified letter to the bank requesting a withdrawal of all funds but I dont know if that is the right action or how much time they have to act if it is the right action.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I really wish I could but I am in Arizona. I suggested sending a certified letter to the bank requesting a withdrawal of all funds but I dont know if that is the right action or how much time they have to act if it is the right action.
You may wish to hire somebody to help your friend. Doesn't your friend know anybody local to her that can help?
 

quincy

Senior Member
Sorry for omitting, she is in Kansas. The problem is that her lawyer seems to be in on the dodging and the banker is VP at the bank and the president is also a friend of the lawyer. The fact that he refuses to simply return her calls really worries me and is kind of a tell for how the situation is going. Every time she attempts to talk to anyone at the bank she ends up talking to a secretary and no calls are ever returned.

Thank you for your reply. She is not in great health at the moment so i am trying to do some digging for her.
Have your friend contact the bank's corporate offices. It is a fair bet that not everyone connected with the bank is a friend of the lawyer.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
I really wish I could but I am in Arizona. I suggested sending a certified letter to the bank requesting a withdrawal of all funds but I dont know if that is the right action or how much time they have to act if it is the right action.
Have her contact the local TV and newspaper investigative reporters. They are always looking to nail the fatcats who pull that kind of stuff.

If the investments are in securities (stocks, bonds, etc) the Security and Exchange Commission might also be interested.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Have her contact the local TV and newspaper investigative reporters. They are always looking to nail the fatcats who pull that kind of stuff.

If the investments are in securities (stocks, bonds, etc) the Security and Exchange Commission might also be interested.
I think it is better to avoid reporting the bank or its officers until more is known about the situation of the friend in Kansas. Contacting the corporate offices can be a way for the Kansas woman to get the attention of the bank that is apparently holding her funds and this is perhaps the easiest way for her to get the answers she seeks.

Mrnyc3guy is in Arizona and is unlikely to know for a fact all of what is going on, nor he is able to act on her behalf to get the information necessary to know what is going on. What is important, however, is that the Kansas friend should not make any unfounded accusations (nor, for that matter, should Mrnyc3guy) about the lawyer, the banker, the bank, or the friends of any of the above. It could very well be that the bank has informed the friend that she must come to the bank if she wishes to withdraw any money (or sell stocks or whatever) and she has been unable to do so due to her health.

Although many news stations in many states have "action teams" that will assist consumers in resolving disputes, most will hesitate to get involved until the consumer has exhausted all other options.
 

Dave1952

Senior Member
I think you've received some very good advice here. I bet there's more than one bank within driving distance. I bet those other bankers would love to have your friend's money in their bank. Major bragging rights at the golf course are involved. And these guys know banking rules. Expect and look for "early withdrawal" clauses in the current bank's documents. The prospective bankers should know what the costs and fees are to remove her money.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I think you've received some very good advice here. I bet there's more than one bank within driving distance. I bet those other bankers would love to have your friend's money in their bank. Major bragging rights at the golf course are involved. And these guys know banking rules. Expect and look for "early withdrawal" clauses in the current bank's documents. The prospective bankers should know what the costs and fees are to remove her money.
Having the Kansas woman suggest to her bank that she is going to start banking elsewhere could certainly get her the attention she wants, especially if the settlement funds being held by her current bank are substantial. :)

I see her major problem being that she has been unable to travel to the bank to handle her financial matters personally - and we have no idea how these funds are being held and how easy it will be for her to access them so she can purchase a home. She should NOT, however, be in a rush to give anyone a POA.

It might be smart for the Kansas woman to wait until her health improves a bit and then she can make an appointment with her banker to discuss her finances. It also might be smart for her to wait for her health to improve a bit before she tackles the stress of buying a house. If she cannot walk up a flight of stairs, a move to a single story home could be a good idea - but the actual move might not be.

There are other financial managers and other banks and other attorneys she can always contact if she does not trust those she currently has. A friend in Arizona, though, is unlikely to be able to offer the Kansas woman the type of assistance she apparently needs.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
What type of accounts does she have with this bank--is it a regular checking or savings account or is it a trust account that is handled by a trustee whom she must ask to get permission before expenses/monies are paid out? Is she receiving her monthly bank statements regularly so that she knows how much money she has?

Ask your friend in Kansas to contact the police and see if they will take her complaint and investigate or not.

Is there truly no other lawyer in that city or in a nearby city within a radius of 5-10 miles that you could contact to help with this situation?

Do a basic background check on this banker on the county court records online to see if there is any record of criminal activity.

Please mention the name of the bank and city, state (I would like to know if it has any initials at the end of the name (such as FSB or something similar) or not. I'm trying to determine if this is a state bank, a federal bank, etc. so I can consider an additional avenue you could pursue within the banking industry.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
Ask your friend in Kansas to contact the police and see if they will take her complaint and investigate or not.

Is there truly no other lawyer in that city or in a nearby city within a radius of 5-10 miles that you could contact to help with this situation?

Do a basic background check on this banker on the county court records online to see if there is any record of criminal activity.

Please mention the name of the bank and city, state (I would like to know if it has any initials at the end of the name (such as FSB or something similar) or not. I'm trying to determine if this is a state bank, a federal bank, etc. so I can consider an additional avenue you could pursue within the banking industry.
One, please look at the date of this thread. Mrnyc3guy has not been back to the forum since he posted on October 15. It is possible all has been resolved.

This also hardly seems, or seemed, like a police matter. All that we have heard is from a friend who lives in a different state and has no access to the facts necessary to determine what the situation is with the woman and her settlement funds.

And, if poster for some reason does decide to return to the forum, he should NOT mention the bank or the city where the bank is located (the state name was already provided). He has made comments about those connected with the bank which, if the bank were identified, would also identify those individuals.

Mrnyc3guy is just a friend of the woman and cannot take any legal action on her behalf. If the woman in Kansas is concerned, she can contact an attorney other than the one she currently has - this again if all has not by now been resolved.
 

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