Stock broker trying collect money after his internal error

[sismaxis]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Hello,

I'm US resident and back in 2015 I did trades of stocks through one of Bahamas broker.

I was new in that business and traded like crazy. In 2015 I received email from broker which says:
"It has come to my attention that on the 9th of January a double entry was made to your account in error( two deposits of $3,000.00). You then lost your money in the securities markets and proceeded to withdraw from the second deposit knowing it was not yours. Seeing as how you withdrew funds which accounted for more than you knew you should have in the account we can only assume this was done intentionally.

To that end we conclude that your actions in this matter constitute theft via fraud.

Under the Money Laundering, Fraud and Terrorist Financing provisions (CFT 1995, AML 2001) your account information is being passed onto local and international authorities. Your name will also be blacklisted among all partner and affiliated financial institutions in the region. Theft via fraud is a very serious crime in the Bahamas."

Please note, that I received this message AFTER I closed account and withdrew funds.

I tried to call them, ask them any details, statements that indicate double entry, but nothing. I always followed their rules for deposit/withdrawal funds.

I was surprised that they called it fraud if it was their internal error which they proof in email.

Now, I have inquiry on my credit report from collector which state that I need return money to remove this inquiry:
"Our client's view of your account has not changed. You received $3,000.00 into your account in error and then you didn't refund it to our client. You are not justified in retaining the overpayment from our client."

My question is:
Are acts from broker and collector legal and should I pay to remove this inquiry? Or I can hire attorney to fight with collector?

Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Hello,

I'm US resident and back in 2015 I did trades of stocks through one of Bahamas broker.

I was new in that business and traded like crazy. In 2015 I received email from broker which says:
"It has come to my attention that on the 9th of January a double entry was made to your account in error( two deposits of $3,000.00). You then lost your money in the securities markets and proceeded to withdraw from the second deposit knowing it was not yours. Seeing as how you withdrew funds which accounted for more than you knew you should have in the account we can only assume this was done intentionally.

To that end we conclude that your actions in this matter constitute theft via fraud.

Under the Money Laundering, Fraud and Terrorist Financing provisions (CFT 1995, AML 2001) your account information is being passed onto local and international authorities. Your name will also be blacklisted among all partner and affiliated financial institutions in the region. Theft via fraud is a very serious crime in the Bahamas."

Please note, that I received this message AFTER I closed account and withdrew funds.

I tried to call them, ask them any details, statements that indicate double entry, but nothing. I always followed their rules for deposit/withdrawal funds.

I was surprised that they called it fraud if it was their internal error which they proof in email.

Now, I have inquiry on my credit report from collector which state that I need return money to remove this inquiry:
"Our client's view of your account has not changed. You received $3,000.00 into your account in error and then you didn't refund it to our client. You are not justified in retaining the overpayment from our client."

My question is:
Are acts from broker and collector legal and should I pay to remove this inquiry? Or I can hire attorney to fight with collector?

Thank you.

Check your statements - I mean, you DO have copies from your account from the last year, right?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Hello,

I'm US resident and back in 2015 I did trades of stocks through one of Bahamas broker.

I was new in that business and traded like crazy. In 2015 I received email from broker which says:
"It has come to my attention that on the 9th of January a double entry was made to your account in error( two deposits of $3,000.00). You then lost your money in the securities markets and proceeded to withdraw from the second deposit knowing it was not yours. Seeing as how you withdrew funds which accounted for more than you knew you should have in the account we can only assume this was done intentionally.

To that end we conclude that your actions in this matter constitute theft via fraud.

Under the Money Laundering, Fraud and Terrorist Financing provisions (CFT 1995, AML 2001) your account information is being passed onto local and international authorities. Your name will also be blacklisted among all partner and affiliated financial institutions in the region. Theft via fraud is a very serious crime in the Bahamas."

Please note, that I received this message AFTER I closed account and withdrew funds.

I tried to call them, ask them any details, statements that indicate double entry, but nothing. I always followed their rules for deposit/withdrawal funds.

I was surprised that they called it fraud if it was their internal error which they proof in email.

Now, I have inquiry on my credit report from collector which state that I need return money to remove this inquiry:
"Our client's view of your account has not changed. You received $3,000.00 into your account in error and then you didn't refund it to our client. You are not justified in retaining the overpayment from our client."

My question is:
Are acts from broker and collector legal and should I pay to remove this inquiry? Or I can hire attorney to fight with collector?

Thank you.

You should hire an attorney.

 

[sismaxis]

Check your statements - I mean, you DO have copies from your account from the last year, right?

I was able to get this statement from Broker's account now and it shows two deposits of $3,000 on that date (listed in their email).
Statement from my bank account indicate only one withdrawal. Looks like they right about double entry. But it is not my fault, or fraud.

They found that and let me know after account was closed. And now put this amount on collection.

Is that legal?

 

[quincy]

I was able to get this statement from Broker's account now and it shows two deposits of $3,000 on that date (listed in their email).
Statement from my bank account indicate only one withdrawal. Looks like they right about double entry. But it is not my fault, or fraud.

They found that and let me know after account was closed. And now put this amount on collection.

Is that legal?

Even if it was an internal error that resulted in a double deposit to your account, this error does not entitle you to the deposited money entered in error.

 

[Zigner]

I was able to get this statement from Broker's account now and it shows two deposits of $3,000 on that date (listed in their email).
Statement from my bank account indicate only one withdrawal. Looks like they right about double entry. But it is not my fault, or fraud.

They found that and let me know after account was closed. And now put this amount on collection.

Is that legal?

Yes, it's legal. You got money that you shouldn't have gotten and now you are refusing to pay it back. Furthermore, I can understand why they feel you defrauded them.

 

[sismaxis]

Thank you so much for advice!

 

[tranquility]

Google "bank error in your favor" and ignore the Monopoly links. You will find multiple articles on this type of issue. Of course the money is not yours and needs to be returned. Also, it is possible you have committed a crime when you removed the amount for the reason(s) the broker wrote. If paying back the money gets you a "get out of jail free" card, pay it immediately. I like quincy's thought that you should get an attorney as he might communicate with the broker to make it go away for a quick repayment of the money.