An elderly Manhattan woman is going to court against three financial institutions after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a fraud scheme, according to Think Advisor.
86-year-old Nina Mortellito filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in New York County against Merrill Lynch, UBS Financial and TD Bank. She accuses the banks of negligence, saying they did not protect her from fraudsters who stole nearly $700,000 from her life savings.
The complaint states that Mortellito “clearly was the victim of an elder fraud scheme beginning in or around August 2023, when a malicious pop-up window appeared on her personal computer falsely warning her of imminent hacking of her accounts.”
According to the lawsuit, Mortellito withdrew and transferred approximately $275,000 from Merrill Lynch accounts, wired $150,000 from TD Bank to a Texas-based gold dealer, mailed a $30,000 check, and took over $100,000 from UBS Bank accounts, all under fraudulent instructions. The fraudsters allegedly convinced her to convert funds into gold bullion and wire them, supposedly to safeguard them.
Court papers note how unusual these transactions were for the woman, who typically made withdrawals under $5,000. “These withdrawals came after more than two decades of consistent, conservative investment activity,” according to the lawsuit.
The previous year, Mortellito had named Vail Maes, her niece, as co-trustee at each of the institutions due to her diminished capacities. That action was the result of a previous elder fraud incident against Mortellito in 2021, which the lawsuit says the banks were aware of. With Maes having been added on the accounts or having executed powers of attorney, it was alleged that all three banks had been put on notice that Mortellito “required elevated protections and monitoring to avoid recurrence of elder financial fraud,” but that no adequate protection was provided.
The complaint states that withdrawals at UBS “were primarily conducted through account closure requests and direct wire transfers authorized during phone interactions,” adding that UBS served as investment advisor and custodian of Mortellito’s assets for more than 20 years.
“We are extremely disappointed the banks have not acted according to reasonable professional standards,” Mortellito’s nephew-in-law, Stephen Kuhn, told The New York Post. “We are left with no choice but to bring this lawsuit, which we hope will bring real change to the banks’ policies and procedures, lessening the chances this will happen to others.”
Merrill Lynch, UBS, and TD Bank did not comment on the lawsuit.
The attorneys at Hyman Cotter PC have decades of experience dealing with securities fraud cases and have a deep understanding of how capital markets and financial service firms are intended to work to protect investors. If you think your financial professional or firm engaged in misconduct that caused you investment losses, contact Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a no-cost evaluation of your matter.
