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Home >> Scams/Fraud
Brother Empties Accounts of Deceased by Fraud
I have been appointed personal representative of my mother's estate. My brother has had power of attorney for several years. He has not provided any documentation relating to her accounts. I have been locating accounting through limited paperwork I was able to access after her death. I am beneficiary on life policies and just learned I am beneficiary to her IRA account. I went to the bank to obtain information to complete the beneficiary form, and discovered that my brother has not notified any financial institution of her death. He created debts in her name prior to her death, when she had assets and was not in need of loans. I also learned that after her death he went to the bank and withdrew the funds from her IRA on a few different dates, executed as attorney in fact and withdrew funds as a regular withdrawal, instead of even checking the box that she was deceased. Just prior to the first withhdrawal, her retirement check paid after her death was withdrawn from the account to reimburse the payor, who alerted the bank of her death. They did not check the account statement and disbursed IRA funds and drained the account over the next year, representing to the bank she was not deceased.
I am a beneficiary, so he has stolen my money. The bank allowed the transfers after being alerted of her death on the statement. He has intentionally continued to clean out her accounts representing to the bank she is still alive and not giving anyone notice of her death. Can he be charged criminally for making false statements to the bank either directly or by omission by not informing of her death? Was the bank negligent for not reveiwing the statement which clearly stated reclaimed funds, which the bank admitted that designation on the statement indicates death of the owner? Will the bank need to make the funds available due to their negligence for not reviewing their own records which indicated funds were reclaimed due to death? Who will be liable to replace the money, so that I can receive the funds to which I am entitled as one of the beneficiaries? If my brother can be charged criminally, who do I contact? Is it a federal crime for making false statements to a bank to obtain funds from an account from which he should have never withdrawn in the first place, without beneficiary forms completed? What is the best way to pursue?
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 You wrap up this tale of deceit and plunder of your mother's accounts with a series of questions. Frankly, many of the answers you seek are based on who knew what and when they knew it. There are simply too many variables to sort them all out, and you need to engage a "take no prisoners" attorney to help you fight your way to the truth and to whatever reimbursement the estate may be entitled.
If your brother could be charged criminally or civilly for his failure to notify the bank of your mother's death, would depend on which remitter's funds were compromised and whether that remitter attempts to recover funds. As an example, the Social Security Administration could pursue legal action to recover overpayments to your mother's account, and attempt to get them from your brother based on his withdrawals.
We can't express an opinion on the bank's alleged negligence, not knowing what the bank may have seen or ought to have seen. The only question of your list of queries that we can respond to is the last one. The answer to that is engage an attorney to find out what your rights and options are.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 8/11/10
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