GIVE HIM BACK HIS MONEY WELLS FARGO, ITS NOT EVEN YOURS ANYMORE. A retired miner and rancher in southern Idaho, who found long-lost certificates of deposits estimated to be worth more than a half-million dollars, was informed by the bank holding the CDs that they aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Bill Coffey, who still holds the original certificates, said an attorney representing Wells Fargo sent him a letter earlier this month stating the bank had no way of determining whether or not the CDs had already been cashed-in without being submitted. Lara Underhill, regional communications director for Wells Fargo, said Friday that the bank could not provide details of the matter. “We’ve fully explained this matter to Mr. Coffey in a November correspondence,” she said in a written statement to the Times-News. “Beyond that, we can’t comment due to privacy and customer confidentiality.” Coffey said the bank hasn’t really told him anything. “I was just told I have to talk to one of their lawyers,” he said. “But he doesn’t know anything. He just comes up with theories that I’m trying to steal their money.” Herber Leney Jr., a litigation attorney based in San Fransisco who communicated by mail with Coffey concerning the CDs, did not immediately return phone calls from the Times-News. The certificates date back to 1979, when Coffey and his son, Ed Coffey, bought about $290,000 in CDs from a bank in Rio Rancho, N.M. The six-month CDs had an interest rate of 10.315 percent, but the rate was required to reset every six months. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Wells Fargo bought the Rio Rancho bank in 1999 — including the bank’s CDs. Coffey estimated that based on a flat interest rate, the CDs are worth a little more than $600,000, however, he expected to receive less because the certificates reset to lower interest rates. He said he plans to hire an attorney of his own if the bank doesn’t honor the CDs. “It’s not that I need the money because I’m doing fine financially,” Coffey said. “I just don’t want Wells Fargo to steal it. To me, it’s just a matter of principle — they’ve had my money to work with for 30 years, and now I want it back.”
Wow.
How do you buy $290,000 worth of CDs and forget about them?
This story seems fishy.
Probably just a drop in the bucket for this miner/rancher
This should be an interesting case. The CDs should have expired at the printed date at which point they would have to be cashed out or rolled over. I have never heard of an open ended CD but if WF purchased the bank it would have absorbed the liabilities which is where CDs sit on the balance sheet for a bank. To have them lost in the transaction brings up a lot of questions about how the M&A team works at WF. In any case, they would be able to trace the flow of funds off the balance sheet if they had been cashed out.
ZeroBonus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How do you buy $290,000 worth of CDs and forget > about them? +1
Sounds like that dude is owed some money. Why would he even have the original CD certs still? They are always destroyed or at least kept by the bank upon redemption.
ZeroBonus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How do you buy $290,000 worth of CDs and forget > about them? From an article I read this morning on John Paulson: “At one point in late 2007, a broker called to remind Mr. Paulson of a personal account worth $5 million, an account now so insignificant it had slipped his mind.” Everything is relative.
And why would a retired rancher forge 30 year old CDs ? He has no reason to make it up.
topher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ZeroBonus Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > How do you buy $290,000 worth of CDs and forget > > about them? > > > From an article I read this morning on John > Paulson: > > “At one point in late 2007, a broker called to > remind Mr. Paulson of a personal account worth $5 > million, an account now so insignificant it had > slipped his mind.” > > Everything is relative. That is why when you are worth in the millions you should have investment advisors/managers tracking your wealth instead of trying to do it by yourself.
topher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ZeroBonus Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > How do you buy $290,000 worth of CDs and forget > > about them? > > > From an article I read this morning on John > Paulson: > > “At one point in late 2007, a broker called to > remind Mr. Paulson of a personal account worth $5 > million, an account now so insignificant it had > slipped his mind.” > > Everything is relative. Bet he wants it now. I think this is the same Paulson I read that cant get any investors in his new gold fund.
I used to work with a life insurer and we would receive requests to redeem policies 50+ years after passing. There really isn’t much a company can do to research post 7 yr. record retention. There might me microfilm, there might be an old file, but 7 yrs is standard. Wells more than likely turned the money over to the state after 5 yrs of trying to locate the individual and destoyed records after 7. I bet this guy will get a call from Oprah that she"found money" for him…
hueion Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I used to work with a life insurer and we would > receive requests to redeem policies 50+ years > after passing. There really isn’t much a company > can do to research post 7 yr. record retention. > There might me microfilm, there might be an old > file, but 7 yrs is standard. > > Wells more than likely turned the money over to > the state after 5 yrs of trying to locate the > individual and destoyed records after 7. > > I bet this guy will get a call from Oprah that > she"found money" for him… +1 - they’d have to escheat the funds to his state treasurer, which probably happened many years before WF acquired this bank.