Consumer complaint received 2022-04-01
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, 2021 I was scammed into taking {$13000.00} in cash out of my XXXX  checking account ( money which I didn't realize was actually mine because a fraudster had added it to my computer screen, on top of the money that was already in the account ) and, at the direction of the scammer, advised to take it to a Wells Fargo branch and deposit it in the following account, which the scammer intimated was an XXXX account : XXXX XXXX XXXX Acct. # : XXXX Transaction # : XXXX I took it to the Wells Fargo branch in XXXX, NJ, and deposited the cash in the account, which the teller recognized and acknowledged as a business checking account. 
Clearly, the account was fraudulent, or the owner had no idea perhaps that money was being laundered through his or her account. 
The XXXX XXXX police informed me that they had frozen the account ( whatever that means ) on XXXX XXXX. Since then, my phone calls to Detective XXXX XXXX have gone unanswered. 
I'm trying to recover the money. 
To my astonishment, the account still appears to be open! This I learned through the first level of the fraud department at Wells Fargo who was observing it on his computer screen. He was not at liberty to tell me what name was on the account or how much money was in there. 
So I submitted a complaint to Wells Fargo, and the response I got was : " We understand you believe you initiated a deposit because of a fraud scheme ; however, your request to reclaim the cash you deposited into your account ( my account? It was an account I had no knowledge of, nor had I ever heard of XXXX XXXX XXXX ) is an example of an adverse claim against a deposit. This means that after funds are in a depositor 's bank account ( hey, it was NOT my bank account -- duhhhhhh! ), a third party does not have the right to receive the cash back simply by making a demand for the funds. We regret we are not in a position to be more helpful at this time. '' The account was and clearly is a fraudulent account. ( It occurred to me that Wells Fargo was at the heart of a massive fraud scandal that made the headlines several years back. ) If the account is still viable, as I believe it is, then surely Wells Fargo must be aware that either 1 ) it's fraudulent and possibly a money laundering account, or 2 ) not fraudulent, but being USED by someone as a money laundering account without the account owner 's knowledge. 
In any case, I had lodged a complaint against XXXX ( from whom I had withdrawn the money ) earlier, but I was foolishly pointing in the wrong direction. XXXX 's attitude was, well you took the money out and benefited from it ( I didn't benefit from it, I lost it ), so too bad for you. 
Anyway, perhaps you can investigate this. It has a very bad smell to it. 
The account was clearly fraudulent on XXXX XXXX, and if it has been open all the while, that would suggest the likelihood that it's fraudulent now. 
Perhaps you can look into this for me. 
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) 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