Banking Misconduct Lawyer

Serving West Virginia and Ohio

Banking misconduct or bank fraud is an umbrella term for any use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution. Fraud usually employs some type of scheme or deception, as opposed to outright robbery or theft. Here are some common examples of banking misconduct:

Check Fraud – Stolen, altered, forged, or otherwise fraudulent check writing accounts for yearly losses of $815 million or more, compared to the $65 million taken in bank robberies annually.

Check Kiting – Occurs when in-transit or non-existent cash is recorded in more than one bank account. Kiting usually takes place when a bank pays on an unfunded deposit.

Uninsured Deposits – Unregulated, unauthorized offshore banks lure depositors by offering high rates of interest, or promising offshore secrecy. These deposits are not protected by the FDIC or any other state or federal deposit insurance.

Stolen Credit Cards - By law, once the loss or theft of a card is reported by the cardholder, the cardholder has no further responsibility for unauthorized charges. The maximum liability under federal law is $50 per card.

Skimming Scams/Duplication of Credit Card Information - Credit card "double scan" machines may copy info from your card and create a new duplicate card for which your account will be billed for any purchases. Card issuers have fraud detection software which picks up unusual, extravagant spending patterns. However, smaller purchase "skimming" can go undetected over a long period of time.

Booster Checks - A non-sufficient fund (NSF) check is used to make a payment to a credit card account in order to “boost” a line of credit.

Fraudulent loans - A fraudulent loan is one in which the borrower is a business entity controlled by a dishonest bank officer or accomplice. The "borrower" then declares bankruptcy or vanishes and the money is gone.

Because bank fraud can involve many unidentified subjects, span many jurisdictions, is non-violent and often produces few leads, it is often relegated to a low priority or ignored. Hiring an experienced banking misconduct lawyer is essential in many cases.

If you live in West Virginia or the Southern Ohio region and believe you may have been a victim of banking misconduct, please contact the law offices of Jan Dils & Jim Leach today.