Irving Rosenberg spent his entire life accumulating his savings. The 90-year-old Southern California man, who is deaf, has limited mobility and early-stage dementia, had no reason to think his $814,000 in Wells Fargo savings was at risk.
It happened.
Starting last April, someone began forging Rosenberg’s signature on checks and draining his savings account. He never wrote a single check from her. Withdrawals came quickly (most within just a few weeks), totaling $814,000. [1]
Rosenberg did not understand this. Considering his health, he was in no condition to do this. “I was angry and disappointed,” he told ABC7 Los Angeles. “It took all my life savings… I was hurt.”
When Rosenberg realized what was happening, he called Wells Fargo for help. The bank launched an investigation but offered little assurance. “An investigation could take forever,” he said. “That’s what they told me.”
Then a letter arrived: Wells Fargo denied the fraud claim. It was a long time before I contacted the bank. The bank’s deposit agreement gives customers 60 days to report unauthorized transactions. Rosenberg, who is dealing with dementia, skin cancer and near-total hearing loss, missed that.
Rosenberg’s nephew, David Satin, who stepped in to manage his affairs, was stunned, especially after looking at the cashed checks. “If you look at all the checks that were written, none of them were even remotely close to his signature,” Satin told ABC7. he said.
Satin directly pushed the bank back. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. He’s 90 years old. He has some dementia. He can’t hear. He can barely walk. He has skin cancer. He doesn’t notice these things, and you guys have no help for him.'”
He also questioned why such large withdrawals, many of which clustered over several weeks, were never flagged by Wells Fargo’s fraud systems. But he wasn’t getting anywhere. The bank was not responding.
With nowhere to go, Satin contacted ABC7’s consumer advocacy team. 7 On Your Sideand asked for help.
Things changed quickly when the station began investigating. “They have contacted me at least five times since I contacted you and you contacted them,” Satin said, adding that the bank had become “much more responsive.”
As the report was being finalized, the 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 share that we have returned Mr. Rosenberg’s funds to his account,” the bank said in a statement.
Rosenberg was relieved. “I thank Channel 7 for doing this… thank you,” he told the station. “I feel much better. I can sleep.”
Rosenberg’s trial ended well; but this was probably because a TV channel was involved. There are several recent examples of elderly Wells Fargo customers experiencing the same thing.
In Dallas, a check belonging to 83-year-old Billie Young was seized and cashed by a stranger. Wells Fargo denied his claim in May 2025, citing “untimely reporting.” [2] After WFAA aired its story, families across the country flooded in with nearly identical experiences. [3] After losing $450,000 to a tech support scam, an elderly woman in Philadelphia filed a lawsuit claiming Wells Fargo allowed five wire transfers to go through without anyone intervening. [4] And in January 2025, a FINRA panel ordered Wells Fargo to pay $3.4 million to the estate of a Georgia woman whose nieces abused her while the bank ignored red flags. [5]
Wells Fargo has been fined approximately $28 billion since 2000. This ranks third among US megabanks, behind JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. [6] But unlike its peers, Wells Fargo has a relatively small operation on Wall Street; its main business is ordinary Americans, which means the punishments are closer to home. In 2022, the CFPB ordered the bank to pay $3.7 billion for illegal activities affecting more than 16 million customers. [7] Director Rohit Chopra calls it “a cycle of breaking the law over and over again.”
Wells Fargo isn’t the only bank struggling with this. According to FinCEN, financial institutions filed more than 680,000 suspicious activity reports related to check fraud in 2022 alone; This figure is almost double the previous year. [8] Total check fraud losses in the Americas are expected to reach an estimated $21 billion in 2023. [9] And seniors are absorbing the worst: FBI data shows Americans over 60 reported $4.9 billion in fraud losses in 2024, up 43% from the previous year. [10] The FTC estimates that the true cost, including unreported fraud, could reach $81.5 billion annually. [11]
“This crime is not just financial,” said Kathy Stokes of the AARP Fraud Watch Network. [12] “Some people have everything taken away from them and yet they say the emotional impact is the hardest.”
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The 60-day reporting period that nearly defeats Rosenberg’s claim is standard at most major banks and poses a particular trap for older customers. The burden falls entirely on the account owner to review monthly statements and flag unauthorized transactions within this window. If you miss it, the bank considers the matter closed. No exceptions, no questions asked.
Ask yourself this: How confident are you that your 80-year-old parent reviews their bank statements every month?
Congress is trying to solve this problem. The bipartisan Financial Abuse Prevention Act, [13] This new regulation, which will be reintroduced in 2025, will allow financial institutions to delay suspicious transactions where they believe an elderly or disabled customer is being exploited. The House version passed the committee 50-0. [14]
Report immediately and do so in writing. Flag suspicious transactions as soon as you notice them and follow up via letter or email. Keep copies of everything. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, check fraud victims technically have up to a year to file a claim, even if the bank’s internal deadline is shorter.
Contact regulators and law enforcement. Contact your local police, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) and CFPB (consumerfinance.gov). A CFPB complaint, in particular, could pressure banks to take a second look at denied claims.
Set up account alerts before any problems occur. Most banks offer free notifications for large withdrawals and new check transactions. If you’re helping an elderly relative manage their finances, enable these alerts on your own phone.
Identify a trusted person and consider obtaining power of attorney. A trusted person creates a safety net without giving himself/herself control of the account. A durable financial power of attorney goes even further, allowing a family member to step in and take action before damage occurs. That’s ultimately what helped Rosenberg’s family, but by the time Satin got involved the money was long gone.
If your request is denied, escalate. Rosenberg and Young’s cases show that initial denials are not always the final word. Request an auditor review, involve your state attorney general’s office, and don’t underestimate local media consumer advocacy teams; these were the turning point in both stories.
Ditch paper checks. At a time when check fraud is at epidemic levels, switching to electronic payments is one of the simplest ways to protect yourself and the people you care about.
The fact that it took a TV investigation to get a major bank to return $814,000 in fraudulent checks speaks volumes in itself.
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Article sources
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ABC7 Los Angeles (1); WFAA Dallas (2); WFAA Dallas (3); Upper Class Actions (4); Financial Planning (5); Violation Tracker (6); CFPB (7); FinCEN (8); Nasdaq Global Financial Crime Report (9); FBI/IC3 (10); CNBC (11); AARP (12); Congress.gov (13); CNBC (14)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without any warranty.
