Wednesday, August 11, 1999
5/3 won't pursue mistaken deposits
Family keeps gifts, funeral prepayment
BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Fifth Third Bank Tuesday abandoned efforts to recover a $3,030 funeral prepayment by a customer who paid with money that was mistakenly deposited into his account.
The Enquirer reported Tuesday that customer Clyde Benjamin Reed died Sunday, four days after being released from jail, where he had spent three weeks on charges of bank fraud.
Fifth Third said Mr. Reed's funeral prepayment came from $183,516.11 mistakenly deposited in his account.
The bank's change of heart was a relief to the Rev. Joseph R. Garr, who is handling Mr. Reed's burial at Wesleyan Cemetery in Northside today. Fifth Third dropped its threat to sue him if he refused to hand over the prepayment.
Mr. Reed's sister, Darlene Williams, still was angry Tuesday, although the bank also dropped its threat to sue if she kept $13,000 her brother gave her from the account.
“I still feel the are responsible for my brother's death. All of the gestures they are making, why didn't they make them before he died?”
The money was deposited between October and February. In July, Fifth Third called in the FBI. On July 14, Mr. Reed was arrested.
Mr. Reed, 59, was held at the Hamilton County Justice Center until last Wednesday, when grand jurors refused to indict him and he was freed.
The next day, he had a stroke.
The Rev. Mr. Garr said the death certificate attributed the stroke to high blood pressure.
Fifth Third has recovered all but $50,000 with Mr. Reed's help. The bank is writing it off, spokeswoman Robbie Jennings said. Ms. Jennings also said Fifth Third would no longer try to collect the $13,000 gift to Miss Williams, and said the bank would return two $2,500 gifts confiscated from Miss Williams' children by an FBI agent.
Ms. Jennings blamed human error for the misdirected deposits.
Mr. Reed's account at Fifth Third was used for direct deposit of his monthly $500 Social Security checks. Ms. Jennings said he must have known the windfall was not his money.
Ms. Williams said her brother was expecting an inheritance from an aunt and she and Mr. Reed went to a Fifth Third branch to confirm there was no mistake when his bank balance soared.
Miss Williams said a Fifth Third official assured them that the transfers were his.
Fifth Third investigators interviewed that bank employee, Ms. Jennings said, but the bank “can't confirm” Miss Williams' account of the conversation.
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