Irving Rosenberg spent his life building up his savings. The 90-year-old Southern California man, who suffers from hearing loss, limited mobility and early-stage dementia, had no reason to think his $814,000 deposit at Wells Fargo was at risk.
Yes.
Beginning last April, someone began forging Rosenberg’s signature on checks and draining his savings account. He never wrote a check with it. Withdrawals were made quickly, many in just a few weeks, totaling $814,000. [1]
Rosenberg didn’t hear clearly. Given his health, he was unable to do that. “I’m angry and frustrated,” he told ABC7 Los Angeles. “It cost me my life savings…I’m hurt.”
When Rosenberg realized what was happening, he called Wells Fargo for help. The bank launched an investigation but offered no assurances. “The investigation could go on forever,” he said. “That’s what they told me.”
Then came a letter: Wells Fargo denied his fraud charges. It took him a long time before he contacted the bank. The bank’s deposit agreement gives customers 60 days to report unauthorized transactions. Rosenberg, who suffers from dementia, skin cancer and near-total hearing loss, missed this.
His nephew, David Satin, stepped in to help manage Rosenberg’s affairs, and he was stunned—especially after seeing the check that cashed. “If you look at all the checks that were written, there’s not one check that has anything close to his signature on it, not even close,” Sardin told ABC7.
Satin fought back directly with the bank. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. He’s 90 years old. He has a little bit of dementia. He can’t hear. He can barely walk. He has skin cancer. He doesn’t notice these things, and you’re not helping him at all.'”
He also questioned why such large withdrawals – many concentrated within a few weeks – were never flagged by Wells Fargo’s fraud systems. But he accomplished nothing. The bank didn’t respond at all.
With nowhere to go, Satin contacted ABC7’s consumer rights team. 7 on your sideand ask for help.
That changed quickly when TV stations started asking. “Since I contacted you and you contacted them, they have contacted me at least five times,” Sardin said, adding that banks had become “more responsive.”
When the report was finalized, good news came: Wells Fargo reversed its decision and agreed to refund every dollar.
“After working with our client and his designated power of attorney and reviewing additional information, we are pleased to announce that we are returning Mr. Rosenberg’s money to his account,” the bank said in a statement.
Rosenberg breathed a sigh of relief. “I thank Channel 7 for doing this… thank you,” he told the station. “I feel better. I can sleep.”
Rosenberg’s case came to a happy ending – but likely only because a television station got involved. There have been several recent examples of elderly Wells Fargo customers experiencing the same thing.
In Dallas, a check for 83-year-old Billie Young was intercepted and cashed by a stranger. Wells Fargo denied her claims in May 2025, citing “untimely reporting.” [2] After WFAA aired her story, families from across the country flocked to the site and went through much the same experience. [3] In Philadelphia, an elderly woman who lost $450,000 to a tech support scam filed a lawsuit alleging that Wells Fargo allowed five wire transfers without anyone intervening. [4] In January 2025, a FINRA panel ordered Wells Fargo to pay $3.4 million to the estate of a Georgia woman whose niece exploited her and the bank ignored red flags. [5]
Since 2000, Wells Fargo has received nearly $28 billion in fines. That ranks third among large U.S. banks, behind JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. [6] But unlike other banks, Wells Fargo has a relatively small presence on Wall Street — ordinary Americans are its core business, meaning the impact of these penalties is closer to home. In 2022, the CFPB ordered the bank to pay $3.7 billion for illegal activity that affected more than 16 million customers, [7] Director Rohit Chopra called it “a repetitive cycle of breaking the law.”
Wells Fargo isn’t the only bank in trouble. According to FinCEN, financial institutions filed more than 680,000 suspicious activity reports related to check fraud in 2022 alone, nearly double the number from the previous year. [8] By 2023, total check fraud losses in the Americas are expected to reach $21 billion. [9] And seniors are experiencing the worst: Americans over 60 reported $4.9 billion in fraud losses in 2024, a 43% increase from the previous year, FBI data shows. [10] The FTC estimates that true losses, including unreported fraud, could reach $81.5 billion annually. [11]
“This crime is not just an economic crime,” said Kathy Stokes of AARP’s Fraud Watch Network. [12] “There are people who have had everything taken away from them and still say the emotional impact is the worst.”
Read more: The average American net worth is a surprising $620,654. But that makes almost no sense. Here are the numbers that matter (and how to make them soar)
The 60-day reporting period that nearly doomed Rosenberg’s claim is standard for most major banks, and it creates a special trap for older customers. It is the account holder’s responsibility to review monthly statements and flag unauthorized transactions within that window. If it is missed, the bank considers the matter closed. No exceptions, no questions asked.
Ask yourself: How confident are you that your 80-year-old parents will check their bank statements every month?
Congress is trying to fix the problem. The Bipartisan Financial Exploitation Prevention Act, [13] The bill, reintroduced in 2025, allows financial institutions to defer suspicious transactions if they believe elderly or disabled customers are being exploited. The House version passed committee 50-0. [14]
Report it immediately—and in writing. Flag suspicious transactions as soon as you notice them and follow up with a letter or email. Keep copies of all content. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, check fraud victims technically have up to a year to file a claim, even though the bank’s internal deadline is shorter.
Filing with regulatory agencies and law enforcement authorities. Report to local police, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) and the CFPB (consumerfinance.gov). Complaints from the CFPB, in particular, could force banks to take another look at denied claims.
Set up account alerts before any problems arise. Most banks offer free notifications for large withdrawals and new checking activity. If you’re helping manage an elderly relative’s finances, enable these alerts on your own phone.
Designate a trusted contact and consider a power of attorney. A trusted contact creates a safety net without giving that person account control. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney goes one step further – it allows family members to step in and take action before damage is done. This eventually helped Rosenberg’s family, but by the time Satin stepped in, the money had run out.
If your claim is denied, please escalate. Both Rosenberg’s and Young’s cases show that an initial denial is not always the final word. Ask for a supervisory review, get the state attorney general’s office involved, and don’t underestimate the local media consumer advocacy team — they were the turning point in both stories.
Ditch the paper check. With check fraud on the rise, switching to electronic payments is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself and the people you care about.
The fact that a major bank returned $814,000 in apparently forged checks only after a televised investigation speaks for itself.
Join more than 200,000 readers and get first access to Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews – curated and delivered with clear insights every week. Subscribe now.
—
Article source
We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reports. For more information, see our Editorial Ethics and Guidelines*.*
ABC7 Los Angeles (1); WFAA Dallas (2); WFAA Dallas (3); Top Class Actions (4); Financial Planning (5); Breach Tracker (6); Bureau of Consumer Protection (7); Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (8); Nasdaq Global Financial Crime Report (9); FBI/IC3 (10); NBC (11); AARP (12); Congress Network (13); NBC (14)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.