Wells Fargo Bank Fraud: Cashes Check, Closes Account, Steals Student's $10,000

PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- The common banking practice of making a deposit turned into a $10,000 nightmare for a Bay Area man and his daughter. Their money disappeared.

Myron Hinrich of Petaluma helps support his daughter, Anne, while she studies film-making at USC.

"She's struggling in graduate school; she needed to make a rent payment," Hinrich said.

Anne was low on cash so Hinrich deposited a $10,000 check into Anne's account at Wells Fargo Bank. However, what happened after that came as a complete shock.

"They said the check was fraudulent, they canceled the account and they didn't want to see her again," Hinrich said.

Wells Fargo refused to give Anne the $10,000. Instead, the bank abruptly closed her account and told her to go away. The only explanation? The bank claimed the check was a fraud.

"I didn't know what to think, I didn't' know why they would think it's fraudulent," Hinrich said.

Indeed, it made no sense. The check had already been cashed by Wells Fargo the day it was written and the money had been taken out of Hinrich's account.

"It's the strangest thing I've ever seen, you couldn't find anybody to talk to," Hinrich said.

Wells Fargo would not even speak with Hinrich about what happened, citing privacy laws. The bank also would not speak with Anne, saying her account no longer existed.