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Home >> Scams/Fraud
Wife Embezzles 100K, then Runs
My wife and I are joint owners of a Vanguard money market account. Over the last 28 months, my wife removed $102,000.00 from this account without my consent or knowledge by forging my name on the back of the checks. All checks were written to her and me, with the little and sign between our names. She deposited them into a bank account in her own name only, before filing for divorce. Is this a criminal offense? Can I hold the institution who wrote the checks responsible for either not checking the signatures on file, or not noticing the money was being funneled into a single name account? Do I have any recourse at all in this matter? My divorce lawyers seem to not know. Is there a special attorney I should consult for this?
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 You may have recourse against the issuer of the checks based on the forged endorsements, and the window for making a claim is probably still open, depending on the version of the Uniform Commercial Code in effect in the issuer's state of legal domicile. Ultimately, such a claim would work its way back to your wife's bank, and to your wife. You'd base your claim on an affidavit that you'd have to supply that states you didn't endorse the checks and received no benefit from them. An attorney with experience in check fraud cases would be a valuable resource.
One of the defenses that the check issuer is likely to raise is your apparent inattention to the transactions in your investment account for over more than two years. You might have expected to see your overall account balance drop during that period, given the economic environment, but you should have realized that someone was making withdrawals.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 10/13/09
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