What did they know and when did they know it?

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably deduced that lots of people knew about my mother’s penchant for sending large sums of money to Canada and Costa Rica. To name a few:

The FBI. The FBI intercepted a $2000 check to a scam artist in Canada in October of 2002. The agent went to my mother’s house and informed her that the $40,000 or so that she had paid for Canadian Lottery fees had gone to scams. He believed her when she said she understood and would not be tricked again. Foolish man. He described her as such a sweet lady. Those of us who know her are painfully aware that she will smile and nod in agreement and then just do whatever she wants.

Bank of the Ozarks – Along with bounced checks and frequent large cash withdrawals, Stacy told me about a $13,000 transmission to an alleged granddaughter who was a student in Canada in 2003. My daughter was living in Virginia at the time and has never been to Canada.

Simmons Bank – Two tellers there told me of frequent transmissions of large sums of money. Unable to convince my mother to hang on to her money, they even sent a bank officer to her house to offer help and advice. She said she was perfectly capable of handling her finances herself. She stills maintains that position to this day.

Bank of America – You’ve already read about that. Those accounts were opened in July of 2003 and drained by January of 2004.

Western Union. In September 2003, Western Union banned my mother from making wire transfers. She recruited Bill, an elderly gentlemen friend of 40 years, to make the transfers for her. When she ran out of money, he started sending his own money.

My uncle – Around 1995 or 1996, my mother sent $5000 to a lottery scam in Troy, Michigan. When she told my uncle about her winnings, he made a couple of phone calls and determined that it was a scam. Seemingly embarrassed and contrite, she begged him not to tell anyone. Fooled by her demeanor just like the rest of us, he agreed to keep it a secret.

It hardly seems possible that all these people and institutions knew so much for so long, yet Jeannie and I didn't know any of it. Neither of us lives in Little Rock so the likelihood of either of us ever setting foot in any of her banks was very slim. I visited Mother pretty often, but she always had plenty of cash or used a credit card (just wait until I tell you about the credit cards). In retrospect, I think she deliberately avoided ever letting me accompany her to a bank. I had been very suspicious of her financial activity for quite a while, so I sneaked a peak at her checkbook register occasionally when she would leave it on the kitchen counter and never found any irregularities. If I had only known about the four checkbooks hidden in the bedroom.

Ok. My name was on three of my mother's bank accounts. Jeannie's was on two of them. Why weren't we notified? Why did the FBI wait 18 months to contact us? Guess what! Privacy laws! The FBI agent who had worked on her case for eighteen months finally got permission to contact us from government lawyers after Western Union reported Bill's January 14 wire transfer to Costa Rica. He acted quickly.