Fraud Taps Account Of Deceased Woman

By VALERIE KALFRIN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 9, 2007

TAMPA - On paper, Mary Anne Moran went on a spending spree after she died of liver failure.

Someone with a cramped script unlike her own signed her name to seven checks totaling $38,000 to pay for things such as a car, gifts, services and legal fees, her brother said.

It could be the perfect crime.

Tampa police are not investigating the fraud because at this point the bank where Moran kept her account - not Moran or her estate - is considered the victim.

This frustrates and angers Moran's brother, Michael Grantham of Tallahassee, who works as a money-laundering investigator and is the administrator of her estate.

"It is bad enough to do check fraud on you or me, but when they do it to someone that is dead, that is about as low as a person can get," said Grantham, 54. "I guarantee you, this isn't the first time these people have done this. These people are walking the street free, and they could hit you next."

Anyone who has a bank account considers the money in it to be his or her own. Few people realize that when someone tries to defraud that account, it is often the bank that decides whether to proceed criminally, police and prosecutors say.

"A lot of times the banks like to pursue their own remedy civilly," so they can obtain punitive damages, said Assistant State Attorney Wayne Chalu, who prosecutes economic crimes. "It's almost the cost of doing business. … It really depends on who's calling the shots and what they decide is in their best interest to do."

Moran, 58, was found dead in her apartment on West Euclid Avenue on April 30, her brother said. Grantham notified SunTrust Bank, where she kept her checking account, of her death.

Within two weeks of her death, the bank informed him of suspicious activity on the account that turned out to be the fraudulent checks. Three were dated April 30, one for $4,000, one for $4,250 and one for $4,500, according to copies Grantham provided to The Tampa Tribune. One dated May 1 was for $10,000. Notations on the checks say things such as "purchase 2001 Mazda Tribute," "services," "gift" and "legal fees."

Working with SunTrust, Grantham was able to freeze his sister's account before more checks could be cashed. The checks involved were deposited into other accounts, where the money remained long enough for SunTrust to freeze it as well, he said.

"There are people out there who know who these individuals are," he said, referring to the accounts where the money was deposited.

Chalu said most reputable banks will "cover the loss and pursue it themselves," so the account holder doesn't lose money.

So far, the bank has recovered $22,750 of the money deposited, Grantham said. A refund of $15,250 is pending, he said.

Because the bank has not complained to police, however, detectives say they cannot pursue an investigation.

SunTrust spokeswoman Susie Findell said the bank has not contacted police at this point because "our internal security has an ongoing investigation of this matter."

"We certainly haven't washed our hands of it," she said.

If Moran were alive, detectives might be able to investigate the theft of her identity, police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. "Since she isn't alive, her brother can't file that on her behalf," she said.

The difficulty, Chalu said, lies in what police and prosecutors can pursue theoretically versus practically.

"Clearly, crimes were committed," he said. "The mere fact that the bank may have been reimbursed does not legally preclude a prosecution. … The question is, how do you prove it?"

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at vkalfrin@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7800.