Memorial
Day 2019: My recently deceased dad went by the nickname “Red”,
because of his auburn Irish locks and may the Blarney Stone rest his peace on
this Memorial Day wherein we honor our soldiers. I salute! Red was a veteran soldier
of the World War, but his toughest engagement on the battle ground for that
life-liberty-pursuit to happiness came about right here in the Homeland - that
which he fought abroad to protect. In the end, after a tough fight don’t mess
with me Irish the craic was good, he lost and that makes this Memorial Day so different
to me. This is a true story every child with aging parents should take heed, as
when we are the adults in the room we have before us a duty to stead that heed.
We cannot become complacent our duty to protect those soldiers and let that
EXXON Valdez go off-course off-radar again! We owe it to these veterans, we
must turn up the heat of vigilance to not just honor thou “in uniform” service,
but protect when the silent enemy attacks “in country”. I grew up in New
England, typical American family wherein WWII and Korean War dad veterans
enjoyed being the bread winners after returning home in victory and America was
on a roll “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”! Sweet Land of Liberty yes, what the
soldiers fought to preserve for future generations I am one that benefitted
from such war-torn bravery abroad. It is called “Freedom”! Soon enough though
in my youth, more trying times came about with the Vietnam days and then into
the hi-tech arena we were all thrown - talk about a melting pot! Along with the
other “pot” that was also part of the scene, “Make Love Not War”. Yes, that “weed”
that is no longer outlawed was an ingredient that was all part of the equation
in “greed seeking” as money to be made! And look where we are today with trying
times, blame enough to go around as when we have a Congress that cannot act responsible
we should take the Jack Marler stance of “No Taxation without Representation”
as was set with precedence back in 1956 in United States v. Marler. Ok, stalking
Congress early on this broadcast is fair game, as there exists shame-shame more
than enough to go all-around the merry go-round upon that government body’s 500-plus
elected membership in worship “deadbeats”. Blame AMEN, with respect to what
follows this true story that which condemns that legislative branch’s no action
policy authority. Now the emerging technologies of the 70s changed how we conducted
business, everything at our fingertips with speed of attention such an
attraction hold on to your hat - or hairpiece! And it was also an age wherein
wealth success set our goals, encouraging signs that with hard work one could
reap the benefits of wealth there for the taking all-inclusive sea to shining
sea - so we thought. With money, it invites crookedness behaviors. Regardless
of the negative fallout that “money” cannot buy happiness, not only were we
learning in kindergarten to “be nice” but how to make that money, then invest
that money to make more money. Even if a small pittance of an income from a
paper route - invest make it rich. My dad taught me early on about stocks, with
Gerber and Alpo! We really blew it when we said no to the Colonel, as his fried
chicken lives on and what started off as penny stock is today royalty. At the
time I found an interest in the hi-tech sector, not drumsticks! And even if
there was found no interest in Wall Street because baseball was a whole lot
more fun, there existed that still all-important investment, through “home”
ownership - it was the elementary success story and after that it was all
extra! But there came reason enough to at least work towards such goals as
there came no harm in trying. Yes, everybody could make it rich was the
sentiment that drove the nation - keep the victory train momentum going as a
free nation finds no bounds and wealth dreaming helped that joyride. There existed
many ways of making it rich and dying poor was not an option, it was becoming a
thing of the past of the past the “Indigent Burial” grounds…hold that thought.
My dad - like most of our dads - was a hard-working American, with a white-collar
trade as an accountant - so he knew the numbers scene and carved a career filling
out hand-written spread sheets and that allowed him to provide and raise a
family. Most of the business ventures back then were owned by the Jewish, and
they treated my dad very good - it had something to do with the outcome of the
World War! So my dad understood the numbers game, when an eraser was an eraser
and an electronic calculator was still a luxury and a slide-rule ruled. Upward
mobility, when dad could finally buy a used car that didn’t need a running jump
start from 3-healthy boys that by age 10 were used to pushing junk heaps down
Clarner Street, in Pawtucket Rhode Island. We knew that by the time we had
accelerated the rust-bucket heap to the Heal’s house the engine would fire up,
a big cloud of black smoke would follow us home. This was all before
environmental issues alarmed us. All-in-all, our family and neighbor families alike
the epitome of true middle-class American success, neither rich nor poor. Other
signs of success, how about the refrigerator always filled with cuts of meat
from the butcher - like veal-loaf - and mom didn’t work so stayed home to bake
goodies we could enjoy after she cooked our meals. My mom worked 18-hours a
day, and in return just wanted a smile. So it was a good life, with happiness found
throughout the surrounding neighborhoods of diversity and family time chats at
dinner all part of the American scene just “Leave it to Beaver”! I moved away
from the east coast and ended up in Alaska, a dream come true working the
Trans-Alaska-Pipeline. But I always maintained contact with my parents far and
away, and visited regularly or when needed or when back that way on a business trip.
But with technology, especially in the Ma Bell sector, it made communicating enjoyable
and even a nicer chore when cell-phones entered the country. So with vigilance in
communicating, I always thought I had my finger on the pulse, to how my parents
were faring. A happy voice speaks well for itself! Following retirement, my mom
and dad kept very busy, traveling over to Aruba and they enjoyed acting out a
lifelong fantasy, like “Dancing with the Stars” and indulged in the swing thing,
which was good for keeping up that mobility when age sets in and starts to deprive
one’s motor skills. All told, they were a happy couple living that “Life of
Riley”, owned a home with a pool and a car and a TV and income enough to go out
for clam cakes and chowder every Friday over at the Polish Club Social Hall. My
dad was Irish, my mom French! Now dad and mom maintained that lifestyle through
Social Security and Veterans income that which allowed for about $2000 per
month. And to make ends meet, when necessary cashing in some retirement
benefits to supplement the income stream. So even though not “rich” by any
stretch of the imagination, they were happy and maintained a comfortable
lifestyle. But when my mom started showing signs of memory loss, there came a
change of what they did as a couple. And for the most part by that time this
onset in diminished mental cpacity, my mom stayed home watching the Cardinals
in the backyard bird-feeder and dad would spend a little time over at the local
casino, a few times a week or playing cards at the local senior citizen’s center.
He liked getting out and meeting people, especially other Veterans and sharing
war stories. That said, things seemed to be in order and never once did I ever
sense or see a problem that would in the end send my father to his deathbed a “poor
man”. That occurred just last week and I thank God that “Debtor’s Prison” was
outlawed at the turn of the century. What I offer herein is probably a common denominator
theme, not at all an anomaly, but premeditated dereliction in duty upon our
aging War Veterans - as they are vulnerable and when it comes to another man’s
wealth that “greed” is today a WAR and our elders are losing the battle. Sad,
when they fought to protect “We the People”, maybe we would be better off under
communism! It all started when mom and dad were still in good health and some
needed repairs to the pool on their property allowed for some young punk at a
local bank to offer up a “Home Equity Line of Credit” with no guts, no
questions asked a limit of $60k in greenbacks just sign on the dotted line. My
parents’ property was paid in full and valued at $250k, and it was all they
really had with respect to any “inheritable” asset. But so easy for the banker
to see that asset as valuable collateral. Hey, borrow money pay the piper that
interest! And that is wherein it all started to fall apart, greed seeking
bankers empowering my parents with “fabricated” wealth that was to set a dangerous
precedence as it was way too easy to fall into this trap - victim abuse. This
loan was approved without any semblance of responsibility on the bank’s part
and repairs to the pool were minimal - something my dad felt a good idea to
commence before the property was placed on the sale block - sometime in the
near future. The bank should have proposed a loan, even if in equity, with
limits. It was just too good a deal to be true and was allowed but
for a single reason, elder abuse. Look, my dad did not need access to that
much money without any restrictions, Many will disagree, put yourself in my shoes.
The home and its inherent equity was all my parents had, as that is what many
of our dads and moms felt meant success and something they would eventually
leave as an inheritance. With the equity loan, it became a convenient ransom “note”.
Why allow such an easy way to sabotage that home’s worth and value, with debt
so easily consuming what should have been restricted. That asset provided a
home ‘til death do us part”, and then it would be something the surviving
children would enjoy, in kind or in value. Getting such a lucrative “equity
loan” no questions asked, it was the banking institute preying on the
vulnerable. There should be a law or some common sense from the banks - but
they don’t care as the property secures their interest with interest. It is a
no-loss venture for the banks. Get the point, they make money on this ritual
and could care less if irresponsible behavior takes over - like gambling! When
mom got to the point from a medical standpoint wherein dad could not take care
of her on a daily basis, they sold the property “outright” and moved into affordable
housing close to medical facilities. But by this time with the “Equity Line of
Credit”, because it was an easy target, well it had ballooned in dept to well
over $120000 as when it reached the $60k benchmark limit the banker convinced
my dad to increase the limit? All that was required was a verbal “Yes”, like kids
in a candy store! One would ask how and what for such debt so soon - it was
taken away in running up payments for a “scam” that addicted my dad. In his
life and career wherein he was always gainfully employed and bringing home the
bacon, he never made it “rich” and when a too good to be true opportunity
invaded his peace and tranquility to be left alone, it took its toll. Yes, he
had been taken by a get rich scam that sounded so innocent but designed to be
successful, for the crooks that continue to this day to engage in criminal
activity allowed to survive - get the point, as it continues on today. Said
again, there were no signs of financial abuse, no outwardly signs and the only
way an outsider would have known such was going on behind the scenes would be through
access to bank accounts - and that is something that our elders are not likely
to give away so easily. Just like trying to convince a 50/50 driving habit can
be dangerous - especially when one cannot find his or her coke bottle glasses. After
my mom passed away, things seemed pretty tame still, and it appeared no
intervention by the children was necessary from a financial oversight
standpoint. Everything looked OK from the outside. And there appeared to be a
breather in the “scam” as his bank account went sad during this time, but that
would not stop the madness in throwing money away to the crooks. Now by this time, my dad had already set up a “Trust”
with the successor trustees and beneficiaries well defined in a legal document
and paid off the “Equity Loan”, which did make a considerable dent into the inheritance
but with the sale of the house it allowed about another $120000 to be invested
in the “Trust” - for maintaining lifestyle and the remaining wealth someday
turned over to the surviving beneficiaries of the “Trust” - the two surviving
brothers. Again, up until this time period my dad was of sound mind, so no interference
was necessary - little to my knowledge that was a weak assessment on my part as
things were not sound financially. A few months after my mother passed, maybe
out of boredom and with another opportunity exciting my dad as maybe he had
forgotten what happened the last go around like maybe the criminal element in perpetuity
knows when a surviving spouse is vulnerable, just offer up some shenanigans
that sounds reasonable. Like that last-ditch effort to make it rich, one last
time take a chance! And it occurred right
along the time my dad was to receive the balance check from the bank for the
property sold after payoff of the equity loan - like was someone spying on my
dad’s account and in realization there was soon to be another “pot of gold” to
swindle away? And that is exactly what happened, phase II of the “Fee Scam” as my
dad entered the arena again, getting involved in the same damn scam with the
same dirty crooks that would wipe out his entire net worth in less than 2-years
and the family scrambling for ways to pay his funeral expenses. OK, we all make
our own bed, my dad took the bait not once but twice as it was akin to an open
invitation without any oversight and carrying on outside the attention of any audience
of concern - except the bank! But like with the ridiculous “Equity Loan”
allowed without limits and a way so easy to get in trouble financially, banks
are allowing this back door to such abuse. The bank acts as the “middle-man”
and no matter what they say in “we’re sorry” after the fact, the banking
institutes are derelict in that duty - and the only reason they are letting it
propagate is based on the fact they are not being harmed by this theft and most
likely making a profit somewhere along the way. With the banks, all the warning
signs were front and center of attention with my dad’s fascination that there
was “free money” to be claimed just pay a small fee to get to the head of the
line - more like getting to the front row in the line-up and blindfolds not
required as the crooks kill the spirit of our senior citizens vulnerable such
easy access abuse. And what the banker tells me is pure nonsense, that there
exists an “eyes on” oversight for such abuse - but do nothing? Look, the banks
knew about it and did nothing. One bank charged my dad “over-draft” close to a
$1000-bucks when his account went negative - for a single month and it was not
until that time that a block was placed on the crooks. Sure the bank is correct
in saying that it took action, 18-months too late! So he quit that bank and
found another, but by this time he had not the resources and his meager income
consisting of Social Security and a Veteran’s benefit, it was consumed trying
that one last “Fee” and he fell behind in rent and medical bills - because the
scam continued to show its ugly side effects, that his dream of striking it
rich before death was possible. As the way the scams are designed, that is the
intent. When the scam started and my dad became addicted along with denial upon
the fact he had so much into it, he could not stop and would not stop until
every red cent was consumed. He woke every damn day thinking that payoff check
will show-up any day now - he was never in denial, he thought it was a legitimate
investment, along with Publishers Clearing House. These crooks model how PCH
rips the life out of our seniors, and why there is legitimacy in such scams and
Congress allows it to go on unabated. With that and how my father convinced
himself the “Big Check” was on its way, what’s a few more checks to the crooks
when $millions$ was guaranteed. Let me ask you this, how many checks do you
write in a month’s time to cover necessities? Non-business that is, for
homelife? With my dad, it should have been one-check for rent, one-check for
his medication, one-check for his medical coverage and one-check for his cable
TV and a few bucks for groceries, gas and cell phone charged to a debit card.
My dad was writing checks out to this “scam” faster then he could order new 3x
boxes of new checks! In less then 2-years time, my dad had written out over
3500 checks in denominations from $20 to $30 bucks, for entry into guaranteed “winnings”
and never received a single “red” cent back. He also had hundreds of dollars
wasted in postage stamps alone, because these scams use the time-clock to
harass and threaten one to act fast or else forfeit it to John Doe! And some of
the good crooks that have been arrested before but never jailed, they demand a
non-traceable “Money Order”! My dad entered this scam with Bank Check #100 and
in the end #3971 was cashed as he rested in his hospital bed dying. In my last conversation,
remaining but a whisper of life, dad understood he had died a “poor man” and
cried out for mom! Do the math, upwards 150 checks each month being generated
when maybe 3 to 4 is all that was required to maintain a happy lifestyle. These
documents pass through a bank as a clearing house, and it did raise an alarm of
concern - yet the bank balked on taking corrective action. He was going broke,
behind on bills and eating rotting food before I found out and intervened. And
my dad always memo’d what a check was for - and for the most part it was stated
as a “FEE” in small denominations - designed “small” but it adds up. Students
in the 1st year of law school understand that “FEE” is illegal,
maybe banks need to hire better lawyers so these institutes understand the law!
So it was easy to write out a check for $20-bucks when the checking account had
over $100000 and it was even easier to do this over and over again because any
day now, any day “I shall be released” with boatloads of free money! In that
20-months time, my dad was wasting away upwards $5000 in this “FEE” scam. Now
GOOGLE “Fee Scam” and the FTC will tell you all about such scams along with
warnings from every damn branch of government. As it is a well-known criminal
activity, and banks know all about it. So when my dad was signatory to so many
checks month-after-month, it drained down the “Trust” and it wasn’t until he
was paying me back for a loan a few years back did I get an understanding of
what may be going down and draining his bank account for nothing in return - like
he had no idea so much had been swindled away so quickly. And that is when I
intervened, when a payback check was denied due insufficient funds. And when I
finally received permission from my father to enter his accounts so I could see
what was going on and if need be the time had come about wherein I must manage his
financial affairs - it was too damn late as the “Trust” had by now gone
negative. To reiterate, in less then 2-years time over $100000 lost to a scam,
all through “Fee Checks” in small denominations, over 3500 checks that were written
and defined as a “Fee”. My dad was going to the bank on average once a month to
re-order checks, at a local branch! Yet this didn’t seem to bother the bankers,
that a 92-year old guy…need I say more. When I found out about what was going
on, I sent a letter of concern to the bank my dad was dealing with when all
this went down. The reply from the bank CFO, rather sad and I have been told
the same sentiment of disgust by several lawyers that work in the capacity to
protect our seniors from such abuse, after the response was read. That letter
is included in the end of this dissertation as permission to use it by the bank
was granted, I guess in efforts to warm families that banks don’t give a rat’s
ass. So the children as adults must beware, but that sets a stage for taking
control away from our parents. There comes a time that becomes necessary, just
when is a rather difficult decision making process and most likely it will be
too damn late if a “scam” is involved. Yes, the banks need to do more. I was
told by this bank that in such situations there exists in house “eyes on” for
monitoring, like a sample of the general population is tested, to see if there
is something suspicious or peculiar going on. Maybe this banker is in need of those
coke-bottle glasses! With the amount of checks written by my father,
statistically speaking it should have been easily caught, confronted and
arrested. But when small denomination are what the crooks want, it is a curve
ball. Even if the bank was to take drastic measure to “lock” an account, to get
social services and or the law involved it takes time and borders on that “Right
to Privacy”. The other thing of interest that it was not only I that missed the
boat, my cousin was the police chief of the town my father lived and his son
was a police officer that would visit my dad on a regular bases - as it was on
his beat. One would think with a trained eye of the law that maybe something
like this would surface and raise a flag, just through conversation. It did not
as the perpetrators behind these scams are professional genius criminals that
have escaped being locked up in solitary - I would say arrest them and water-boarding
suits me fine. And the only assurance to protect the victims of such widespread
like “scams” is what the bankers see and do when push comes to shove, nothing!
In my dad’s case, the banks must have seen the abuse yet did nothing. When I learned
about this, the fact the “Trust” had been depleted to nothing and with my dad’s
passing struggling to find resources to allow for some going away party, my
brother went mad and for the last year or so since the “scam” was discovered,
he refused to talk to my father. Not even a simple hello, and now that
one-on-one is gone forever. In ending, there were times when I found hate upon
my dad for being so stupid, that the “Trust” would have been a very valuable
resource for the brothers’ own financial situations, asking again and again “why”?
Yes, my own greed. My dad was an accountant, he should have known better, but the
way in which these scams are designed and because banks will let it go on and
on, why the hell did my dad risk his life for country? When one looks at how
widespread this abuse is upon our aging population so vulnerable to financial abuse
and fraud, with scams on-the-loose ranging about with as many flavors as
ice-cream - like what we see with a Fred Thompson pushing these “Reverse
Mortgage” scams and other “Too Good To Be True” scams - well no wonder the U.S
Congress is asleep at the wheel to protect, as one man’s stolen wealth is
another man’s fancy hors d’oeuvres. Dad, Red, rest in peace. And maybe one day
the U.S. Congress will get a draft notice for this war against our seniors, and
those that get a deferment will be a telling sign that points to the real crooks
- IMAGINE a war right here on our own turf. When asked to provide an “obituary”
for my dad, I offered up the “lullaby” from the bank CEO that allowed my dad’s
account to get swindled away as it was more deserving the dilemma facing our
seniors then what my dad did during the World War to protect my liberty - here
it is!
Obituary
for Albert J. “Red” Kelley - March 15th, 2019
October 18, 2018
Dear Mr. Sam McGee(aka Son of Albert J. Kelley),
We are in receipt of your fax sent to the “Navigant
Credit Union - Leadership Team” and others on October 15, 2018. President and
CEO Gary Furtado has directed me to investigate the matter. Thank you for bringing additional information
to our attention. I want to express that we are as concerned for your father
now as much as we were when this matter was first discovered. I want to assure
you we do not take the matter lightly and will fully cooperate in any
investigation to the extent possible. Without your father’s consent, we do have
to respect his privacy. If you have obtained guardianship or Power of Attorney,
please let me know and we can share more detailed information. As you do know
that Albert J. Kelley, your father, did have an account with us, I am skirting confidentiality
as he is the only surviving person(s) on the account, but will do so on a
limited basis in the interest of helping him.
Albert J. Kelley did bring two or three counterfeit
checks to us in the latter part of 2017. It is during that time I had two
conversations with him, once while he was in the branch and once at his home
number regarding the checks. I had advised him not to wire any funds to anyone
and he assured me hadn’t. He was not forthcoming about anything and the
conversations were very short. Unfortunately, all financial institutions are
plagued with people of all ages trying to cash or deposit counterfeit checks.
In any given year, we will catch between $200,000 and $500,000 in counterfeit
checks received from over-the-counter, mobile deposit, ATM, overnight delivery
and US Mail. It is not unusual for any branch to be presented with a
counterfeit check at any time across all demographics. It has become part of
the cost of doing business and we do our best to protect the Credit Union and
its members, like your father when he brought the checks to us. This did not
create a “red flag” as it is such a common occurrence.
Regarding the amount of checks your father appears
to have written, our check processing system is fully automated meaning checks
are not physically handled as they are all processed electronically. Our
processing does not identify volume of checks written by a particular member,
regardless of age. Also, our compliance
software does not perform that function, particularly with checks written in
small dollar amounts. The scammers and criminals are well aware of how check
processing works and function with that in mind. I can tell you, this is the
first time that we have encountered any member who has written this many check
or created ACH payments under these circumstances. During the course of our
internal investigation, I learned the Rumford Branch had discussed the amount
of checks your father was ordering. At one point, they stopped giving him
temporary checks because he had asked for them on several occasions. He was
asked about the number of boxes of checks he was ordering and told the branch
staff the checks were for “business” and would not elaborate.
As you mentioned in the opening of your letter,
your father appeared to be “of sound mind”. We do have to walk a fine line
trying to elicit information from members whom we have concerns about their
banking habits. People do become offended when they feel we are intruding into
their personal lives even though we are attempting to protect them. Some do not
want our help. Do we find illegalities by and against members? Yes, but it is
frequently difficult to identify and determine what is occurring, particularly
without the cooperation of the people involved with the resources at hand,
bound by the regulations that guide us.
Many times, we can obtain a positive outcome when
there is a co-owner on the account we can contact. Unfortunately, we did not
have that information at hand.
Further regarding your father - At the end of 2017,
a teller noticed the pattern of checks being written and it was brought to my
attention. We acted and froze his accounts and rejected 18 checks we could best
determine weren’t in his best interest. No fees were charged. This occurred in
about the same time frame as when you contacted our Call Center and I
subsequently sent an email to the email address you provided. Unfortunately,
all of the damage had been done at this point. We took your father at his word
that he was conducting a business and did not interfere with it. If we knew in
2015 when the account was opened what his intentions were, we wouldn’t have
done so. I am certain you feel the same way, but it just isn’t always possible
to determine someone’s intentions.
I want to assure you that it is a practice of
Navigant Credit Union to attempt to protect all of its members, regardless of
age. We do so with a great amount of diligence. We train our staff and we
reward them for uncovering instances of exploitation. Unfortunately, despite
several attempts at talking to your father about his practices, we could not
obtain any information from him regarding his “business”. It seems simple as we
discuss it today, but it I can assure you it was not the case in 2017 when we
attempted to get information from him. The assertion that someone should have
noticed “fee” or anything else about his checks isn’t practical because there
is no routine review of electronically processed statement and checks. Again,
it is an automated process. We never touch an original check that is processed
outside of the Credit Union at the bank of first deposit. I am sure you can
appreciate the amount of checks that are processed by this institution.
I did speak to some other local financial
institutions regarding a hypothetical situation as this and all agreed that it
would have been difficult to identify given the same set of circumstance. They
also did not possess or were aware of any processing that would have flagged
this activity.
What can be done going forward? I would suggest
that if someone can be appointed guardian or obtain Power of Attorney, that you
do so. Also, there have been Federal Trade Commission actions against these
types of organizations. Some of them have been fined for deceptive practices
while others continue to operate in the gray area of fine print or reappear
with different names and continue their practice.
I would strongly suggest a complaint with the FTC
as some of the fines have gone to reparation to victims. I will continue to
investigate all avenues in this matter but wanted to touch base with you to
answer your letter. Please feel free to reach out to me with any immediate
questions.
Respectfully,
Stephen P. Ormerod
CSO
