Consumer complaint received 2024-05-28
Product: Prepaid card — Government benefit card
Issue: Unexpected or other fees — 
Company: FISERV INC. (CA)

On XX/XX/year> an Administrative Law Judge ruled in my favor concerning eight weeks of back dated XXXX  payments, totaling {$3600.00}. 

On XX/XX/year> four deposits of {$900.00}, totaling {$3600.00}, were deposited by the CA XXXX into my Money Network account. Less than two hours later {$3500.00} were withdrawn from my Money Network account and deposited into an account I do not recognize and have no affiliation with. The bank account numbers associated with my name where the funds were deposited had been changed and the transaction was done ( according to representatives at Money Network ), via phone call. I never made a phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, not from my phone number or any other phone number. The call log from XXXX is attached below.

In the entire time I have collected unemployment benefits I have never transferred funds over the phone and I have never transferred funds anywhere other than my XXXX XXXX checking account. Yet somehow this fraudulent transaction was able to take place without raising any red flags. 

On XX/XX/year>, I contacted Money Network about the funds that were supposed to have been deposited in my account. Since this was a back dated claim for multiple weeks I wasn't sure if the money would go straight into my XXXX XXXX account or go through Money Network. The representative at Money Network informed me that the funds had been sent to my account, and that I just needed to wait. I even gave her my checking account information, which she verified as being where it was sent, even though the information had already been changed and had already been sent to an unknown fraudulent account.

It wasn't until the following day when i took a closer look and saw that the account and routing numbers of my bank had been changed. I then immediately reported the fraud to Money Network.

I submitted my original dispute to Money Network via email on Friday XX/XX/XXXX. According to my conversation with XXXX in the escalations department at Money Network on XX/XX/year>, Money Network received my dispute on Monday XX/XX/XXXX, and that same day they ( according to the letter I received via mail ), completed their investigation of the dispute and determined that no error occurred. Their decision letter was dated Monday XX/XX/year>. What type of fraud investigation Money Network could have possibly done in one day is beyond me.

I submitted an appeal which was immediately denied as well. I filed a third appeal on XX/XX/year> and have been given conflicting accounts of whether the case is open, closed or being investigated.

I am including a number of other items including : -screenshots of the date and time of the deposits and fraudulent withdrawal -screenshots of the fraudulent account and routing number attached to my account -screenshot of my XXXX fraud case number -screen shots of numerous other people online reporting identical XXXX fraud happening to them through Money Network ( Showing how Money Network is definitely aware of the fraud problem but is refusing to address it or attempt to resolve the issue ) -screen shots of my call log directly from XXXX confirming I never made a phone call to Money Network on XX/XX/year>. ( I actually didnt make any phone calls on that day ).

-The report I filed with the FBI -The report I filed with the FTC -The number of the report I filed with the XXXX XXXX Sheriff 's Office , along with the contact information of the Deputy assigned to my case -The call log of my phone from XXXX I also filed a report with the DFPI  ( report number : XXXX ), who said they forwarded the complaint to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, since it is out of DFPI  jurisdiction. 

More alarming than the {$3500.00} stolen from my account less than two hours after being deposited, is XXXX XXXX gross negligence and callous disregard for my personal data and sensitive financial information. After doing some online research I was shocked to find dozens of people sharing stories that were strikingly similar if not identical. Hours after ( usually larger ) sums of money were deposited by the CA XXXX into Money Network accounts, the money was withdrawn and deposited into unknown accounts. On the CFPB website there are dozens of published accounts almost identical to mine concerning Money Network. Account hacked, money stolen, case closed within 1-3 days, outrageously long hold times, conflicting information, and no attempt whatsoever to help resolve the problem.

I do not think its a coincidence that these fraudulent withdrawals are occurring primarily with larger sums of money. It seems as though whoever is doing this knows when larger deposits occur. I have left money in my Money Network account for multiple days in the past and never had an issue. But the moment a large deposit was made it was stolen in less than two hours. It seems inconceivable that this could be happening so quickly without a person or persons at Money Network being involved in this fraud. And even if no one at Money Network is directly complicit in the theft, the lack of action and negligence on the part of Money Network should make them responsible not only for what is happening, but for the sensitive personal and financial information they are allowing to be compromised.

I have sent a copy of this letter to Money Network, the CA XXXX, the XXXX XXXX Police Department, the FBI, the FTC, and the California DFPI ( who are forwarding the case to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency ).

I hope Money Network reimburses all of the funds that were stolen from my account and from the accounts of the countless other people affected by this fraud.

I also expect Money Network to be the subject of a class action law suit sometime in the near future and hope that the CA XXXX finds a safer, more reputable and more reliable financial institution to use. 

Thank you very much in doing anything you can to help me resolve this issue and hold Money Network/Fiserv accountable for their actions.