Consumer complaint received 2023-09-12
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CT
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
The Unlicensed Merchant Solicits our Clients Deposits to Beneficiarys Non-Segregated Bank Account : Before the Merchant and our Client commenced a business relationship, the Merchant misled our Client to believe that it possessed all relevant government approvals necessary to the conduct of its business including, but not limited to, trading of regulated financial products. In connection with our Clients subsequent opening and funding of a trading account with the Merchant, the Merchant instructed our Client to transfer funds to an account in the Beneficiarys name at the Bank ( to be thenceforth credited to a false and fictitious trading account ) rather than to the Merchants segregated client account or an individual account held in the name of the Client for purposes of conducting investments and trading through the Merchant. 
The Falsified Trading Scam : Indeed, the Merchant is part of a global network of cybercrime that has been described as the falsified trading scam. In furtherance of its scheme, the Merchant claims to have the ability to offer and exchange stock, options, forex, digital currencies and/or other regulated financial instruments. It would appear that, in reality, the Merchant provides a simulated Trading Portal that putatively, but does not actually, execute any exchanges or purchases of any of the foregoing regulated financial instruments, and is not connected to any recognized exchanges. In other words, wherever convenient or expedient for its own business interests, the Merchant manipulates the Trading Portal to exhibit its own desired prices in order to variously ( and for its own behoof ) induce further deposits and/or preempt withdrawal requests. The Merchant has left a trail of victims who have fallen for this sophisticated and well-crafted scam ( in some cases losing their entire life savings ). 
The Merchants Unlicensed Conduct of Regulated Financial Activity : Please note further that the Merchant has not obtained the necessary license to trade the aforementioned regulated financial instruments and that, therefore, the contract, if any, under which the Merchant received client money via the Bank for the provision of such unlicensed services would be unenforceable as between the Merchant and our Client. 
The Beneficiarys Role in the Illegal Scheme : Nevertheless, acting in good faith and in full reliance on the Merchants representations and instructions, our Client sent money via bank transfer to the Beneficiarys account at your Bank. 
After much research, it was concluded that the Merchant is not part of the same corporate group as the Beneficiary. Evidently, the Beneficiary is aiding and abetting the Merchants systematic program to bypass the Banks fraud detection screening that ( we presume ) would have ( had such activity been conducted under the Merchants own name ) readily been flagged as a high-suspicion Merchants receipt of funds by illegal means ( e.g. fraud, larceny by trick, unlicensed practice of a regulated profession ). 
The Beneficiary participated in this illegal scheme by permitting the Merchant to funnel unauthorized transactions through a legitimate business network ( the Beneficiary ) in order to conceal the true origin of the transaction

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation