ROCKLAND, Maine — A Hope man claims that a Rockland Savings Bank FSB employee stole at least $95,000 from his accounts and took out a $68,000 loan in his name over a three-year period.
The alleged thefts coincide with a federal investigation that began last summer over the possible embezzlement of a large amount of money from Rockland Savings by an employee. In August, Rockland Savings Bank President Harry Mank Jr. said an audit was done and that the FBI was investigating the possible embezzlement, which first was detected in early July.
Mank could not be reached for comment Tuesday on whether that investigation and this lawsuit are related.
No one has been charged yet in the embezzlement probe. Mank said, however, that an employee was fired.
A lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Knox County Superior Court by Christopher and Tara Wellman of Hope against Rockland Savings Bank.
Christopher Wellman claims that the bank employee, a woman who was not named in the lawsuit, opened a loan account from 2008 through 2011 totaling $68,000 in Wellman’s name without his knowledge and without benefit to him. The employee used the money to her benefit, the lawsuit states.
The suit also claims that the bank employee wrote multiple checks from other Wellman accounts, such as a home equity account.
The bank employee allegedly wrote a $15,876 check from one account in June 2010 payable to the bank. Another employee of the bank then negligently assisted in converting the fraudulent check into a cashier’s check which the first employee used to buy an automobile for herself, according to the suit.
In November 2010, the suspect employee fraudulently wrote a $20,282 check from a Wellman account that again was converted to a cashier’s check at the bank to pay for another car, the suit claims.
In May 2011, the employee reportedly wrote another fraudulent check in the amount of $13,800 and again converted it to a cashier’s check at Rockland Savings. The check was made payable to Bangor Savings Bank to pay off a loan by the employee or her children, the lawsuit stated.
Yet another $2,200 check reportedly was written from a Wellman account later in May by the employee.
And the final incident occurred May 24, 2011, when the employee allegedly wrote a check for $44,203 which she had converted at Rockland Savings to a cashier check that was then paid to Beneficial Bank for the purchase of a mobile home for her or her family.
Wellman claims in his lawsuit that when he checked the status of his accounts with the bank during the three-year period, he was provided “misleading or patently false” information. He noted in the lawsuit that he had a valid signature card on file at Rockland Savings Bank but that at no time did anyone from the bank use it to verify the signatures on the fraudulent checks.
Wellman is seeking, among other things, that his credit be restored, that the bank pay compensatory and punitive damages, and payment of damages to Tara Wellman for loss of consortium resulting from the negligence of the bank.
Mank also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit in his role as president of the bank.
A telephone message was left for Mank and other bank officials but no return call has been received.
The Wellmans are represented by attorney Chad Cloutier of Rockland. Cloutier was not available for comment.
If it were me, after getting the run around, and not having the FIRST 15K put back in my account, I’d have gotten a new bank!
So, if I understand you correctly, you would have written off the 15K and gotten a new bank? If I was a thief, I would like your thinking.
No, I still would have had it looked into. But I wouldn’t have kept the rest of my money in that bank for the thief to continue taking.
The article also says she opened a loan account in his name without his knowledge. Then she took money from the account. Pretty hard to keep an eye on an account you don’t know exists.
Yes, I read the article. I know what it says. That part is identity theft, and can happen to any individual.
Different than being given the run around about why there is 15K (and more) missing from your account.
It sounds like the banker had an elaborate scheme in place if the victim was checking on his account and didn’t detect anything amiss. Any time someone in a position of trust over other people’s funds seems to be living way above their salary level, perhaps it’s time to investigate them. Who knows what other accounts this banker may have compromised. If I had money in that bank, I’d demand an immediate accounting.
I’d stash it away not flaunt it.
so, there’s all this much detail on what happened, how it happened, what the money was used for, and no one’s been charged. C’mon folks, RSB only has so many employees, so it can’t be that hard. Is someone at the FBI sitting on their thumbs or what??
I would imagine that they know exactly who has done it, but for whatever reason, are making sure they have a solid case against her. I would rather have them take their time (but not too much time) than jump to an arrest and then not have the charges stick due to a technicality.
On another note, did she really think she would be able to continue to get away with this? Seriously? “Borrowing”/taking that amount was just asking to get caught!
And we all wonder why the bank’s are fighting the issue of oversight so hard. Had this man not made such a stink over his account’s being looted this might have gone on a lot longer since it’s in RSB’s best interest (not their customer’s !) to keep this quiet and not make a ruckus. Yeah. That and a $ 1.25 will get you a cup of coffee. Who does RSB think they are fooling ? Now that this fraud is out, and the FBI is digging in, RSB is gonna get the reaming of their lives for the foreseeable future. Right after the FBI’s go thru you can bet the farm that the folk’s from the FDIC are gonna be coming in a raising RSB’s FDIC rate’s, as well they should. The civil action’s coming are not gonna be pretty. But if anything they are going to force the bank’s to start actually looking out for their customer’s best interest. And with the FDIC looking over their shoulder for at least the next 5 year’s, and with the American Banker’s Association staying well clear of this mess, RSB is going to have to fly straighter than Christ if they even hope to re-build any confidence in their practice’s. And their insurance company is gonna be there right along side ot make sure they do !
Not to mention they may lose a TON of customers over this. I know I would be closing my accounts today, and moving them to a different bank.
Perhaps more than a financial relationship?
Well, banks are always advertising a “personal” banking relationship. I guess this is pretty personal.
Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.
Lack of consortium? It sounds like the bank did it to them.
Good one!
The bank is responsible for taking care of his money and supervising their employees. I don’t know why he needs a lawsuit to get his own money out of the bank. What about FDIC?
That is what I was thinking……
Had a similar situation at a credit union a good while back. “Someone” withdrew, $100 – $300 from our acct every morning at 9AM for 3wks. (This was before online banking.) We didn’t know what was happening until we got our statement. I went to the bank, asked for copies of the slips and noted that the signitures were not those of either my husband or myself. I know I did not withdraw the money and my husband who was ill at the time was home on the mornings in question.
I confronted the manager regarding the theft and he told me with a straight face that if I had a problem I could get a lawyer. (Well thank you very much. How am I suppose to get a lawyer if someone at your bank took all my money?) I called the PD and was given the brush off and told that this was a problem between the credit union and myself. WTF?
So, we were out several thousand dollars with no real recourse. BTW, a week later the credit union replaced all of their tellers. Go figger.
Anyway, my point is that this stuff happens. Because of personal experience I don’t have any reason to disbelieve this mans assertions. I hope he wins his case and not only is reimbursed all of his losses but a nice chunk of punitive change as well.
Kathy, if that is true then why didn’t you push the issue? I would have demanded my money back and sued to get it. It would not have been worth the bad advertising I would have given that bank if I didn’t get it. If nothing else, I would have gone to the newspapers and exposed the bank and banch manager.
KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS and a track record of all transactions. I once asked our bank for .50 to be restored to my checking account because a check was processed for fifty cents more than it was written. They couldn’t believe I wanted them to do a fifty cent transaction. It wasn’t the .50, it was the 3 hrs that it took me to find it.
Lawsuits cost money and common_since is right, that it is the job of the bank to protect your money. The federal commission that oversees the bank should be contacted. I think kathy should still pursue this, especially if she does have a signature for the withdrawals that do not match hers or her husband.
Time after time, this continues to happen. The punishment never equals the stealing so, it becomes worth it. Heck, I could hire convicted felons who would not steal. So much for background checks, etc.
I was planning to refinance with RSB. Now, there’s no way I’ll go there!!
I quess I know too much and had my post removed.. Shame on you Steve Betts.. If you knew who I was you wouldn’t have removed what I said….