ESTERO Scoreless Eagle up for award at NIL Summit FGCU’s Brandon Dwyer is one of the big time performers in NIL despite having never scored a single point in his entire Eagle career.
What happens after a nuisance alligator is captured? For alligators, the month of May means we are in the heart of mating season in the Sunshine State.
Exclusive: Interview with woman who survived 11 fentanyl overdoses Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that in 2020 they seized nearly two thousand grams of fentanyl. In 2023, that number jumped to over 8,000.
ESTERO FGCU star in the circle reflects on historical senior season The Eagles’ ace told WINK News she is focused on making every moment count before she hangs up her cleats for the last time.
NAPLES Pastrami Dan’s reopens in Naples after SUV crash Pastrami Dan’s in Naples welcomed customers once again, with people waiting at the door.
FGCU Two FGCU softball players playing for those who impacted their lives Two FGCU softball players, Riley Oakes and Olivia Black, are playing for friends who impacted their lives in a major way.
Police: Cape Coral man breaks into ex-girlfriend’s home, kills fish named ‘Bean’ A man has been arrested after police said he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, damaged her property and killed her pet fish.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers family blessed with new home In about sixty days, Myrtle Dillard’s home on Lincoln Boulevard went from being run-down and unlivable to brand new.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte woman’s student loans forgiveness after consolidation One Port Charlotte woman was skeptical of her student loan consolidation and potential forgiveness but an email over the weekend changed her life.
FORT MYERS Accusations of animal abuse at Lee County shelter An animal activist group said a local animal shelter is failing to find homes for stray pets, among other complaints.
PORT CHARLOTTE Court hearing held for Trails End Drive murder suspects Two suspects in the Trails End Drive murders were meant to appear in court on Tuesday.
IRVING, Texas (AP) Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested after police allege he threatened to stab 7-Eleven workers Police have arrested a man who threatened to stab two 7-Eleven gas station employees with a knife.
NEW YORK (AP) Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump’s hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006
Despite SUV crash into Pastrami Dan’s, plans for 50th continue The popular local eatery reopened May 7 after being temporarily closed since a woman drove a Toyota Rav4 SUV into the side of the restaurant on the morning of May 3.
ESTERO Scoreless Eagle up for award at NIL Summit FGCU’s Brandon Dwyer is one of the big time performers in NIL despite having never scored a single point in his entire Eagle career.
What happens after a nuisance alligator is captured? For alligators, the month of May means we are in the heart of mating season in the Sunshine State.
Exclusive: Interview with woman who survived 11 fentanyl overdoses Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that in 2020 they seized nearly two thousand grams of fentanyl. In 2023, that number jumped to over 8,000.
ESTERO FGCU star in the circle reflects on historical senior season The Eagles’ ace told WINK News she is focused on making every moment count before she hangs up her cleats for the last time.
NAPLES Pastrami Dan’s reopens in Naples after SUV crash Pastrami Dan’s in Naples welcomed customers once again, with people waiting at the door.
FGCU Two FGCU softball players playing for those who impacted their lives Two FGCU softball players, Riley Oakes and Olivia Black, are playing for friends who impacted their lives in a major way.
Police: Cape Coral man breaks into ex-girlfriend’s home, kills fish named ‘Bean’ A man has been arrested after police said he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, damaged her property and killed her pet fish.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers family blessed with new home In about sixty days, Myrtle Dillard’s home on Lincoln Boulevard went from being run-down and unlivable to brand new.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte woman’s student loans forgiveness after consolidation One Port Charlotte woman was skeptical of her student loan consolidation and potential forgiveness but an email over the weekend changed her life.
FORT MYERS Accusations of animal abuse at Lee County shelter An animal activist group said a local animal shelter is failing to find homes for stray pets, among other complaints.
PORT CHARLOTTE Court hearing held for Trails End Drive murder suspects Two suspects in the Trails End Drive murders were meant to appear in court on Tuesday.
IRVING, Texas (AP) Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested after police allege he threatened to stab 7-Eleven workers Police have arrested a man who threatened to stab two 7-Eleven gas station employees with a knife.
NEW YORK (AP) Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump’s hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006
Despite SUV crash into Pastrami Dan’s, plans for 50th continue The popular local eatery reopened May 7 after being temporarily closed since a woman drove a Toyota Rav4 SUV into the side of the restaurant on the morning of May 3.
We use banks to keep our money safe, but what happens when it disappears without our consent? Tiffany Allen is used to big deals that involve a lot of cash. Her family has owned RV Kountry in Fort Myers for more than 40 years, so large amounts of money come and go. “$270,000 came out of our account,” Allen explained. It wasn’t totally unheard of when five separate wire transfers removed more than a quarter of a million dollars from their business account on March 29 earlier this year. But, Allen and her family never approved the withdrawals. “You just feel a little sick to your stomach,” Allen described the moment she realized the money had been taken. “But at first, you’re like, this is fraud! They’re going to reject these wires and get our money back.” Founded in 1981, RV Kountry has always been located in the Fort Myers area. Allen’s family used SunTrust Banks for years. Back in 2019, SunTrust merged with BB&T, forming Truist Bank. Allen says her family chose to stick with Truist through the change, in part, because of how Truist sells its security. “We’re going to be a stronger, bigger bank,” Allen remembered Truist claiming at the time. “We’re going to be more secure. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.” Truist’s claims about security can be found all over its website touting “better” security and “security tech.” But that has not been the Allen family experience. After the unapproved wires, the Allen family pieced together how the money was taken. Truist claims someone changed the security number on the RV Kountry accounts and wired the money using a foreign IP address. Allen says Truist has had no explanation for how this all happened. “They didn’t notice that my security phone number changed,” she lamented. “They didn’t notice that it’s a strange IP address that the wires are coming from. I didn’t even think this was real. That something like this could actually happen.” More than five months later, Truist still has not recovered or refunded most of that money. $240,000 is still missing, which is equal to several smaller RVs being taken from the company’s lot. Searching For Answers “You feel like, to be robbed or take something from you, you have no control of it,” Allen described. “It makes you sick to your stomach. You feel violated.” WINK News reached out to Truist several times for this story. Nobody agreed to speak about the Allen’s situation but after several emails, their public affairs team sent a statement saying: At Truist, protecting our clients and their accounts continues to be a top priority and we take any potential fraud concerns seriously. While we can’t discuss or confirm client relationships, we can share that we immediately escalated to our fraud team to look into the matter. All financial institutions across the country are experiencing escalated fraud attacks from criminals. The Federal Trade Commission recently reported that consumers lost nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, an increase of more than 30 percent over the previous year. That’s why we continue to diligently educate our clients on the current fraud schemes many consumers are facing across the industry and share resources on how they can keep their accounts and personal information safe and secure. Allen said it’s this type of vague communication and lack of transparency that drove them to share their experience. “They don’t really know who we are,” Allen admitted. “We’re just another number to them.” Since her family’s experience, Allen has discovered reports of several similar stories from other Truist customers. A contractor in Virginia, a family estate in New York and several cases in the Atlanta area: Reports from all over the country with different types of bank accounts, that have all suffered large losses. “Truist should stand behind its customers,” Allen claimed. “That’s their job. That’s why we put our money in the banks.” WINK News Investigative Reporter Peter Fleischer reached out to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis half a dozen times before his staff directed WINK to the Office of Financial Regulation. Fleischer then reached out to their Director of Communications Katie Norris another five times, but she has never responded to requests for an interview or more information. Answers – and accountability – have been difficult to find. Luckily, RV Kountry has been able to drive their business through this nightmare despite a lack of answers from Truist. “It’s sad to think this could take a business completely out of business,” Allen considered. “Then you’re putting 20 families without a job.” Others might not be so fortunate. If you or someone you know has dealt with a similar situation, you can reach out to Peter at: Peter.Fleischer@winknews.com.