Truist troubles persist: Family files lawsuit; out nearly $1 Million

A southwest Florida couple is out nearly one million dollars after they were tricked into wiring money to a fraudulent account. Now, they’re involved in a lawsuit against the title company they thought they paid, and the bank that accepted their money.

Buying their dream retirement home should have been a thrill, but it’s turned into a nightmare for the DeCaros, a Naples couple who was finalizing the purchase of a 1.7 million dollar home last year.
Their attorney, Rod Coleman, explains how their disaster unfolded in the days before they closed on the home.

“The DeCaros thought they were wiring money to Truist Bank,” Coleman explained. “So, the fraudsters started communicating with the DeCaros, unbeknownst to them. They thought they were dealing with the title company. They received instructions to wire the funds to Truist Bank, which they did.”

Days later, the DeCaros realized their money hadn’t made it to the title company. Some of it was recovered, but most of their money was gone. Coleman says the couple is still out about 900 thousand dollars.

“So, we’ve been fighting to get it back,” Coleman claims.

Coleman and the DeCaro family filed a lawsuit in Collier County. It names Heights Title Services, the company the family thought they wired money to. It also names Truist Bank, which accepted the wire transfer and later allowed it to be withdrawn.

“The title company’s email was hacked, so the fraudsters knew about the transaction, had the DeCaro’s information, knew what the purchase price was,” Coleman details.

Heights had no idea, but the lawsuit claims they’re still responsible. On the receiving end, the lawsuit says Truist never verified the payment or the fraudulent account before accepting the money.

The lawsuit points to Florida statute 670.207, which states in part, that if the name and bank account number don’t match then the wire cannot go through. In short, Coleman believes Truist owes the DeCaros.

“Truist does owe them a duty of care and I think they dropped the ball here,” Coleman insists. “It’s been devastating for them, and I hear that every time I speak with them.”

But even as the parties work to find out who the fraudsters are, how they opened an account with Truist and where that money went, Coleman claims Truist has not been helpful.

“They objected to everything. It’s been months now, trying to get basic information,” Coleman says. “They objected to providing me anything.”

RV Kountry still missing money

The DeCaros aren’t the only southwest Florida family to lose money in a frustrating experience with Truist Bank. The Allen family, at RV Kountry in north Fort Myers, is out nearly a quarter of a million dollars after their own issues with Truist.

The Allens had more than 270 thousand dollars taken from their business account with Truist in March, and 240 thousand is still missing.

“Now, our attorney is looking into filing a class action lawsuit,” Tiffany Allen admits. Tiffany is a part-owner and office manager at RV Kountry.

The family is considering filing a lawsuit against the bank, in part because Truist hasn’t given them any other options.

“We wanted to do mediation with them, or negotiate, file insurance claims,” Allen explains. “They had no interest to help us in any way like that.”

Allen also claims the bank has resisted passing along helpful information.

“It’s like a ghost town. Like, nothing,” Allen reflects. “They have no answers!”

The DeCaro and Allen experiences with Truist are different – but both ended with families out hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Still searching for answers

WINK News Investigations reporter Peter Fleischer reached out to Truist to ask how the bank helps return funds that have been stolen. They refused to provide anyone for an interview, and did not provide any information about their security or recovery process saying they “aren’t going to give bad actors a roadmap.”

But that doesn’t mean people aren’t complaining. Fleischer also reviewed more than 60 complaints about Truist that were filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation across the year of 2023. The complaints came from all across the state of Florida. Some were about unauthorized transactions and security concerns.

Allen believes something has got to give.

“Some resolutions are going to have to happen, people just aren’t going to be taken advantage of,” Allen insists.

At some point, whether it’s in a media interview or a court of law, these families hope to get answers.

We reached out to every defendant in this case, but none of them offered comment on the record. Court documents show Heights claims the DeCaros are at fault due to carelessness and negligence.

If someone you know has had issues with Truist or another bank, you can reach out to Fleischer at Peter.Fleischer@winknews.com