JOHNSTOWN – A national banking association alleges two brothers, one residing in Texas and the other in Somerset, schemed to improperly obtain and retain funds from it.
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association filed a complaint on Aug. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Johnstown Division against Yousef Akanan and Hatem Akanan alleging breach of presentment warranties and unjust enrichment.
According to the complaint, the defendants have accounts with the plaintiff. The suit states that in November 2016, Hatem Akanan called the plaintiff pretending to be Yousef Akanan to initiate a transfer of $97,100 from the Yousef savings account to a checking account.
The suit states that "it is believed that Hatem, purporting to be Yousef or purporting to have authority to act on Yousef’s behalf, drew and signed check number 172 for $100,000 from the Yousef Checking Account No. 8011, and made payable to Hatem (Check 172)," the suit states.
The plaintiff alleges that later that month, Yousef Akanan submitted a claim stating he did not authorize the transfer or the check and signed and notarized an affidavit of check fraud. The plaintiff debited $100,000 from Hatem Akanan's checking account and credited $100,000 to Yousef Akanan.
The suit states that Yousef Akanan later informed the plaintiff via letter in March that he "completely forgot that I gave him (Hatem) authorization to withdraw money from my account." The plaintiff has demanded that Youself Akanan reimburse it for the money it credited because of the fraud claim.
The plaintiff request a trial by jury and seek judgment against the defendants in an amount that exceeds $96,008 plus interest, court costs and any further relief the court grants. It is represented by Richard L. Holzworth of Fox Rothschild LLP in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Johnstown Division case number 3:17-cv-00159-KRG