Vystar Credit Union, Alpha Direct Payment Services ripoff, lottery scam, fake check, cover up, $5000 stolen, non-acceptance of responsibility, customer disregard Orange Park Toronto Florida Ontario

In February '06, my wife received a letter from Alpha Direct Payment Services, a third party funds distribution company in Canada. The letter stated that she had won an internet lottery and included a cashier's check for the amount of $5000. She was to take the check to our bank (Vystar Credit Union) to cash and then wire the cash to 2 separate locations in Canada. This was supposed to cover administration costs. Once the funds were received on the other end, we were to be mailed a check for about $30,000.

We were naturally skeptical so we went to our bank to verify the legitimacy of the check, which they validated and cashed immediately (they have never cashed a check for us in the past without holding it for 5 days to verify funds). We were assured by the bank that the check was valid and the funds were guaranteed because it was a "cashier's check". So even though we were wiring cash to strangers, we felt it was money that wasn't ours to begin with. If it was a scam, we reasoned, we stood to lose nothing. The check was guaranteed after all and of course, if it was legitimate, what a blessing to win $30,000.

Nearly two weeks later, while we were waiting for our winnings, we were surprised to see that our bank had debited $5000 from our account. The "guaranteed check" had bounced. My wife and I having long since wired the cash, are left holding the bag on a fake cashier's check that even our own bank was fooled by. The folks at the bank were congratulating us when we first came in with this check. Of course, after the fact, they are very quick to tell us, it's obvious you've fallen victim to a version of the 'Nigerian 419 Scam'". Needless to say, we have recently become experts on the many types of mail and internet scams out there.

What's most disturbing about this situation, aside from the fact that we were robbed of $5000 we never had in the first place, is the lack of care or support that we have gotten from anyone we've tried to contact, especially our bank, Vystar Credit Union. When we called them about this, they said, "There is nothing we can do. Call the police". The police said, "Sorry, not much we can do. Call your bank". We've contacted the Secret Service, The Federal Trade Commission, the state attorney's office and Phonebusters in Canada. All of which filed reports and all of which told us that our bank is at least partly responsible because they cashed the check.

As a consumer and a customer of this bank for over 10 years, we look to them, the experts, for guidance, support and protection. We would at least expect some sort of sympathy and assistance in researching this matter. After all, they have millions of dollars in resources to investigate something like this, and insurance to cover their losses. We don't.

They are accepting no responsibility whatsoever in this case and have completely washed their hands of us. They refuse to speak to us over the phone regarding this and have repeatedly tried to convince us not to come down to the bank for assistance because there is nothing they can do to help us. They did say they would oblige us by sending us the fake check once it was returned to them so that we might provide it to the proper authorities to aid in an investigation (Phonebusters in Canada is the Canadian counterpart to the FTC. They are familiar with this type of scam and were the only people who seemed willing and able to assist us).

However, when we contacted the bank to find out where the check was, they said it was sent to the Secret Service (who earlier had referred us back to our bank). The bank says they cannot provide any information as to where or to whom the check was sent. Now, Vystar Credit Union conveniently has no record or paper trail of this whole incident. Why do I get the feeling that Vystar is trying to cover their tracks?

My wife and I understand that we made a very costly mistake and have resolved ourselves to the fact that we will probably never see this money again. But we can't just throw our hands up and say, "Oh well...". We feel that our case has been swept under the rug and that we are being left in the dark with absolutely no assistance from the very people who could have helped us the most. We are simply trying to find a path to some sort of closure, whether it's retrieving our lost nest egg, bringing these criminals to justice or the public being made more aware of scams like this. It just seems that no one really cares. Is there truly nothing that can be done? We have exhausted all of our avenues and look to you for some insight. Thank you...

Scott
Jacksonville, Florida
U.S.A.