Nationwide — Billie Young, an 83-year-old African American grandmother from Dallas, Texas, says a check she wrote to pay off her car loan was cashed by someone else. She and her family have tried for months to get Wells Fargo to return the money, but the bank denied the claim.
In August 2024, Young wrote two checks — one for her electric bill and another to pay off her car. “$14,952.52. Never will forget it,” Young told WFAA.
When her utility company warned about a cutoff, she called Wells Fargo on September 6 to confirm the payments. The bank told her the electric bill check hadn’t cleared, so she stopped that payment, while the car loan check appeared to clear normally.
A month later, Young got a bill from her car lender and realized the payment hadn’t gone through. When she got a copy of the cashed check, the payee name had been changed to someone she did not know, and her signature appeared altered. Records show the check was eventually cashed at a second bank after being refused elsewhere.
Young filed a fraud complaint in October 2024, but Wells Fargo denied it. Her granddaughter, Kecia Byars, appealed on her behalf, describing the process as stressful, especially while Young cared for her husband, a Navy veteran with prostate cancer. The family also reported the case to the Dallas Police Department.
“It’s been very sad, and more so to see we can’t get through a bank visit without her vomiting or being in tears,” Byars said.
In May 2025, Wells Fargo said customers are responsible for checking statements and reporting errors within 30 days, and they refused reimbursement. Young, who banked with Wells Fargo since 1996, has since closed her account. The bank said it is now re-reviewing the case.