fraud by father

[gilly2011]

hi guys hope you all well its my first time on here so please excuse any errors you may find
now here goes
my step daughter was in a accident in 2009 with her family father step mum and step brother etc and was awarded £12000 however her father apparently put this in an account which he said was a trust fund which my stepdaughter didn't know about (we have just found out )my stepdaughter has a learning disorder which doesn't help in this case so doesn't remember much, we went to the branch to discuss this and the bank says its an account which needs 2 signatures my stepdaughters and her fathers but the bank has been helpful by sending a copy of the application which contains a signature which is similar to my s/ds but not the same her father is also refusing to sign to remove his name from the account even though my s/d is nearly 21. there has also been violence between my s/d and her father and his son leading to my s/d having to go to a refuge for domestic violence which she has since left and got her own flat near us which is why she needs the money..
any help would be appreciated

[charitynjw]

Re: fraud by father

Hi gilly2001 & welcome to Legal Beagles.

I'm pretty sure that a beneficiary is within their rights to ask for sight of the trust document.

I'll give [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION] a nudge on this.

[des8]

Re: fraud by father

Generally speaking a beneficiary of a trust has a primafacie right to inspect trust document.

In this case though I wonder if a trust has actually been set up (which is quite complicated if you want to get it right!), or if the father just deposited the money in a joint account, and retained control. He may have acted in ignorance, but now does not want to lose control.

The bank account for a personal injury trust should be in the name of the trust and require joint signatures
If the beneficiary is a trustee there should beat least two other trustees.

Does the account application state anything about it being a trustee's account?
Does the name on the account include the trust's name?

When the award was made, was it following a court case?
If so what did the judgement say about safeguarding the award to the minors?

Or was it made directly from an insurance company?

[gilly2011]

Re: fraud by father

Hi guys thanks for replying here's what I know after my a/d receiving a letter this morning showing the application form for the account. It has what looks like my s/d signature on it but she states implicitly she never signed it and also her fathers name is the first name on the account with my s/d name 2nd but nothing can be withdrawn without both signatures. The account is not a trust which her father said and he also told police this when they went to question him (they subsequently are not pursuing the matter) however him having the signature of my s/d on it and refusing to give her any of her I'd and documents iit leads me to believe something underhanded (which is realistic if you know him). We should be going to the bank sometime next week to let them know s/d did not sign application form and to see if they will be investigating it as a case of fraud. If there's anything you need to know about this to help me please ask as my s/d really getting emotional about it all. Oh by the way solicitor sent cheque this was in 2014 when the money was deposited into bank. We only learned about it 2weeks ago and found out where the money was being held on Thursday.

[des8]

Re: fraud by father

So contact the solicitor and ask them for the full circumstances.

In your first post you said your step daughter does not remember much.
In your last post you say your step daughter did not sign the application form.
Is that a fact, or could it be your s/d does not remember signing?
The discrepancy in the signature is a minor matter as people's signatures change.


The joint account mandate should, imo, be cancelled immediately.
This will freeze the account until the father agrees to the release of the funds, or the courts so direct.

If the funds are still complete and in the account, it is dificult to see where or why fraud has been perpetrated.
It seems more likely that the father is trying to control his daughter, perhaps he thinks in her best interests viewing her problems. (and I say that fully cognisant that you feel there is something underhand in his actions)

You need to step carefully before accusing him of fraud

[gilly2011]

Re: fraud by father

sorry des8 I'm getting more info each time my s/d said she definitely did not sign the application. I didn't mean to mislead you it was that my s/d said it was because he was shoving all types of paperwork in front of her and with her learning dis didn't understand them all. But regarding the application for bank she did say that she went to bank with him but bank said she (being over 18 at time) didn't have to have her fathers name on the account so she didn't sign anything and this caused an argument between them and a few days later she ended up in a women's refuge which I'm assuming is why we didn't know anything about the account until she got some paperwork off her step brother a few days ago hope this clears it up a little. Also with regards her father I know him very well and he is the kind of person that deceives people as easy as pie I know this for fact £20000 of benefit fraud he's been done with. I know I'm overprotective when it comes to my s/d having no kids of my own but I can honestly say I believe what she said. Hope this will clear some thoughts for you

[des8]

Re: fraud by father

Looking at it from the bank's viewpoint:
Man and daughter come in to open account for her.
They disagree over father having signatory rights and leave without opening account
Later an account is opened in their joint names.
The mandate requires joint signatures.
The bank will assume that the domestic disagreement was resolved.

I assume the account was opened with a cheque deposit, the cheque being made payable to s/d.
Is all the money still there?

[gilly2011]

Re: fraud by father

Yes,the money is still there so the bank said on Thursday but after speaking to manager of bank (not myself but my wife and s/d) she was also suspicious especially since my s/d had no access to her passport it was held by her father and s/d not having any knowledge of acc till a few days ago like I said.

[des8]

Re: fraud by father

Aye, it sounds suspicous, but as no money has disappeared I suspect (no matter what the family opinion of him ismasdopey: ) he will claim to have been acting with the best of intentions.
You suggest your s/d is vulnerable, so he will probably argue he was protecting her assets.

Interesting to see how the bank resolve the matter of the joint account.

[gilly2011]

Re: fraud by father

Hi des8 there are a lot more things he has done but won't go into those as it may sound as if I'm just attacking him (even though there is good cause) but I'm not I just want s/d to get what she's entitle to. I do appreciate the advice you are giving and will keep you informed with what's happening I've just 1 concern and that's how he managed to open the account in the first place without s/d signature I know he's withholding a lot of her documents and because they don't speak or see each other because of the violence they put on her it's hard for us to just accept the situation.
But anyway many thanks

[des8]

Re: fraud by father

I wonder whether or not the bank staff properly followed their employer's rules and guidelines on opening new accounts.