Long story. My parents and “check washing”.

For that amount you need to contact the police

Good luck

BOA = Bunch of Asshats

Approach this issue like BOA is your enemy, because they are.

Sorry for this happening to your folks.

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Bank of America is less than helpful

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Not surprising

FYI - there are no Bank of America branches in Louisiana

How do you know it was stolen in Calcasieu parish?

My bank recently emailed me about the hazards of mailing checks.

This must be rampant.

Big banks are not your friend.
Stay local, as a local bank would be incredibly more helpful.

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This must be rampant.

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It is. My bank is in a small town and still deals with this on a daily basis.

They have 30 days from receipt of the bank statement to challenge the fraudulent activity in LA. I’m admittedly not well versed in banking law and negotiable instruments, but believe in this situation your parents’ bank would be able cancel the transaction if it was timely reported and the bank that cashed the check would bear the risk of loss.


Edit- found the statute in LA - it’s RS 10:3-407. But as others have said, a lawyer would be helpful in this situation. Here’s the text of the statute fwiw.

§3-407. Alteration
(a) "Alteration" means (i) an unauthorized change in an instrument that purports to modify in any respect the obligation of a party, or (ii) an unauthorized addition of words or numbers or other change to an incomplete instrument relating to the obligation of a party.
(b) Except as provided in Subsection (c), an alteration fraudulently made discharges a party whose obligation is affected by the alteration unless that party assents or is precluded from asserting the alteration. No other alteration discharges a party, and the instrument may be enforced according to its original terms.
(c) A payor bank or drawee paying a fraudulently altered instrument or a person taking it for value, in good faith and without notice of the alteration, may enforce rights with respect to the instrument (i) according to its original terms, or (ii) in the case of an incomplete instrument altered by unauthorized completion, according to its terms as completed.

1-get a sheriff or police report. even the smallest of towns have seen this. this won't take long. call them to the house to report elder abuse, mail fraud, felony theft.

2-go to the post office with the report and report the mail fraud.

3-once it is in the USPS' purview things will happen.

4-report all of the above and a brief story on your State AG's website.

5-Use the words "elder abuse" and you are their advocate.

Wells Fargo won't give two craps about the investigative part much past where you are at; but will have to repay the money.

I suspect someone dirty at BOA. But don't let Wells Fargo stalemate the case.

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Can't say for certain that it ever made it there.

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Crooks now buy online, or steal from postal employees, the key used to open the blue mail boxes. They take everything and look for things like checks that they can make use of. They have for decades stolen from residential mailboxes.

There was a Shreveport TV news bit years back where a thief stole an outbound check to Swepco (electric utility), changed the payee to S. Wepcotten, and cashed it at a bank. The crazy thing is I couldn’t cash a check at my own damned bank without showing ID, but this crap was paid.