
"The fraud started in August 2023 as fear dressed up as urgency. Pop-up warnings began flashing across 86-year-old Nina Mortellito's computer screen, claiming her bank accounts had been hacked. What followed was a months-long tale of manipulation that ultimately drained her of $700,000 - her entire life savings. According to a lawsuit filed against Merrill Lynch in Manhattan Supreme Court, the Upper East Side resident who suffers from age-related memory loss was persuaded to make a series of withdrawals over nine months, framed as an act of "safekeeping.""
"According to court documents, Mortellito was tricked into believing her savings were at risk and that the only way to protect them was to convert everything into gold bullion. Over several months, she withdrew about $275,000 from her Merrill Lynch accounts and wired another $150,000 from her TD Bank account to a gold dealer in Texas. The sophisticated scam doesn't just stop there."
"It was uncharacteristic of Mortellito to withdraw so much at once. For over 30 years, her withdrawals never exceeded $5,000. Her niece had even been added as a co-trustee in 2022 to provide oversight and financial safeguards. Even though the withdrawals were out of character for Mortellito, the banks never raised a red flag."
Pop-up warnings in August 2023 told an 86-year-old her bank accounts had been hacked, creating urgency and fear. The woman, who suffers from age-related memory loss, was persuaded over nine months to convert savings into gold and to make repeated large withdrawals and transfers totaling about $700,000. Withdrawals included roughly $275,000 from Merrill Lynch, $150,000 wired from TD Bank to a Texas gold dealer, a $30,000 mailed check, and over $100,000 from UBS. The withdrawal pattern differed from three decades of activity and a co-trustee had been appointed in 2022. Banks did not flag the unusual transactions, prompting a lawsuit against Merrill Lynch seeking changes to bank policies and procedures.
Read at Moneywise
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