• 24
  • June
    2011

The estate of a now deceased Hebron millionaire has recently filed a lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank and Fidelity Brokerage Services, two of the financial institutions that held his money.

The lawsuit stems from allegations that his 48-year-old housekeeper and her son used fake documents, including a power of attorney, to gain access to her 73-year-old employers' bank accounts and more than $2 million in his assets. The mother-son pair is also charged with kidnapping the retired scientist and then killing him and hiding his body before it was found.

His estate's lawsuit claims that all of the documents that the housekeeper and her son used and purported to be signed by her employer were obviously forged. Since the banks had the account owner's signature, the financial institutions should have known that the documents were fake.

The housekeeper used the power of attorney to have her name added to the deceased victim's Fifth Third account, which she then presented to Fidelity asking for $10,000 to be transferred to the Fifth Third account. She also used the fake power of attorney to gain access to a safe deposit box at Fifth Third Bank where she stole 13 gold coins valued at $950 each.

She also used another document to fraudulently transfer $200,000 of his assets to the bank account. At the same time, she told Fidelity to liquidate the entire investment account and to issue her a check for $1 million. Fidelity sold all of the stocks in his account, some of which had been held for 26 years. Unfortunately, this transaction took place at a very low point in the market.

The estate is hoping to collect reimbursement from Fifth Third Bank for the amount of the improperly transferred funds, $210,000, along with $12,350 for the gold coins. The lawsuit is also claiming $1 million from Fidelity for the appreciation that the funds would have accumulated had they not been improperly withdrawn.

Florida residents should be aware of the abuses that can take place if someone gains access to a power of attorney. This case is certainly a tragedy and the events could not have been foreseen. Keeping a watchful eye, however, on bank and investment accounts may help to prevent such power of attorney abuses such as this case.

Source: cincinnati.com, "Slain man's estate sues 5/3, Fidelity," Brenna R. Kelly, 22 May 2011