Consumer complaint received 2018-08-13
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NY
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
I made a mistake by providing my personal bank account to use to forward funds to someone, friend of mine. 
He runs business in XXXX. he asked for an account in USA to forward funds of his client to organization that administers J1 Summer Work and Travel program, overseen by Department of StatXXXX. 
If you see, we transferred funds to XXXX XXXX XXXX, designated organization of Department of State USA in summer work travel program. 
Then we transferred funds to another company, who claimed to help via his partners in USA as  XXXX XXXX XXXX, again, official designated sponsor organization of US Department of State. We transferred XXXX to XXXX XXXX XXXX. Then they became unresponsive. We found out that and filed a fraud claim in local police and send email to XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX. The Czech police blocked the account of XXXX XXXX and now investigation is going on. 
Then the beneficiary XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( the scammers ) told us to send money return requests and include fraud message in XXXX. We did. That fraud message in XXXX made the Wells Fargo specialist to forward the case to online wire fraud department and further the case creation. However, I told him that it is me, who transferred funds, not someone else. The fraud is done by beneficiary after me, XXXX XXXX transffered money to XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Today, on XXXX XX/XX/2018, I got a call from Wells Fargo, being accused for Money Laundering and told that my account will be closed! 
I was victim of a fraud and the bank instead of helping me, punishing me more. I admit I made a mistake for providing my bank account into these all transfers and I intended to wire them back to senders. Please pull up the history of my tickets at Executives office at Wells Fargo. I asked to lift the wire transfer limit up several times in order to send back these incoming wires back to original account. They said they can not do it, the limit stayed the same. The only other way to move funds out of account was to increase withdrawal limit. I asked executive officer to lift that, I even submitted a claim. 
They lifted that and I withdrew funds via ATM and had to give back to senders in cash. 
Funds sent to me Wells Fargo account from XXXX were withdrew at ATM located in XXXX ( check my account history ) How can this be money laundering? Where is the point? What is the point of receiving money from particular country and then withdrawing these exact funds in same country, where is the point for money laundering? I had to do it because there was no other way to give senders money back to them ( I was not in USA and was not planning soon ). 
I admit my mistake, misuse of my account. XXXX punished me, the scammers took XXXX and I had to give these funds to my friend ( not anymore ) from my own pocket. 
But where is money laundering, what is the point of receiving funds from particular country and then withdrawing in same country, where is the point? 

I am in contact with XXXX Police. I reported the crime to FBI, via submitting the case on their website. I am contact with US Department of State employee, director of the program summer work travel. 
XXXX Police emailed my recently that they will be issuing an order to XXXX bank XXXX XXXX and XXXX ( the serving XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) to approve money return claims from me - XXXX usd. The funds should be returned to where they came from, via approving the money return claims. 
The police said it could take somewhere XXXX months. But today I got a call from wells fargo that my account is being closed. How can I receive funds when my account is closed? How can I explain that to czech police? Will police accept that, what if they not? They will keep the funds forever? What about me? I will loose XXXX, just because my bank suspected something that is even true? It is double pressure, being victim of fraud, then when the truth is appearing, you will be accused for another thing and again suffer, get punished. Why?

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