Consumer complaint received 2022-10-30
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I am seeking recovery for my {$75000.00} from my BANK OF AMERICA account as they have been no help whatsoever and keep dismissing any attempts online and in bank in person ( on several occassions ) to recover my money that was scammed. They didn't question at any point why {$75000.00} was sent to a foreign account and didn't protect me in anyway! 
This was a one time transaction of {$75000.00} to a completely new account which must of been flagged as scam/fraud. 

This involves every bit of my life savings from all accounts from the past XXXX  years of my adult life, so any support is overwhelmingly appreciated. I had sent {$75000.00} in a wire transfer from BANK OF AMERICA to a foreign account XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX. 

The Back Story : Five years ago I signed up for XXXX XXXX XXXX. In XX/XX/2020 I received a call from XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX, XXXX informing me that there was a new round of funding coming up for XXXX and as I had expressed interest, I could open up an account. They sent forms and I opened an account with them. 

Note : Before opening, I did my research on XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and saw 16 years of Audit reports. The website XXXX matched every detail and on the site it clarified XXXX registered. I researched XXXX XXXX Scam, Fraud, reports etc before and asked others to do the same and nothing came up. 

Through emails I and calls I spoke to XXXX XXXX my XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( Chief Compliance Officer and Owner, XXXX XXXX ( accounts ), XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX and others. All emails from XXXX XXXX  I had a client log-in on the website where I saw and can see my deposits and trades. Every trade was signed off and I received Trade Confirmations. I have all this literature. 

I received monthly updates of account summary and positions and had regular contact. I invested in XXXX and XXXX XXXX. These were my only two investments. 

After 90 day lock-up period of XXXX XXXX XXXX that I had invested in, I asked to sell. They sold out on my request and sent me confirmation of the sales transaction and signed off. My $ investment in XXXX had returned, life changing money for me. So I asked for them to send me the money back to XXXX as they are New York based. All of this shows in my online portal that I can log in on. 

This is where it became apparent that I was scammed. They contacted me saying that I had to sign a XXXX form which I did. Then they said there was a 13 % tax penalty to pay, which I said ok BUT they wanted me to pay them directly. I said Id pay but had to confirm what its for with IRS as Im a XXXX holder and didnt want to get in any tax trouble. This went on for a week but no real answer. They then came back and said they have an alternative route through their XXXX division in XXXX  XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX. So I waited and emails exchanged. They then came back saying there was a small transaction fee to pay for release. This is where I said they wouldnt get another XXXX and Ill get my lawyer to handle this, to which I contacted an online lawyer that said it sounds like a scam. The phone calls have stopped but the emails have continued and continue. 

So the lawyer found a direct cell number for XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX. I called him and spoke directly, he said there is an XXXX XXXX XXXX at the exact same details, address, location, XXXX and SEC registered however the XXXX website is not him. He says he knows of the website but its not him. I then informed him that they are signing off as him inemails and using the XXXX numbers of him and XXXX XXXX XXXX to which he said he knew, but said he couldnt do anything. So it appears he knows people are being scammed but done nothing about it and the website is still up. 

I have hundreds of emails and transactions and XXXX and even my friends who are brokers looked over it and said it was legitimate. 

This is a brief summary but gives you an idea of what has gone on. I can share much more on a call. In total between XXXX and XXXX I had invested the equivalent of of {$75000.00} coming from my BANK OF AMERICA account. 


I can show correspondence and I can also show you my client login portal. I appreciate any support or guidance as Im broken. 


With sincere thanks, XXXX

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