A local woman claims a bank gave away her entire life savings.
Beverly Brown says she told the bank manager she thought she was being scammed and needed their help after purchasing a mobile home.
In fact, Brown says she had a bad feeling after giving a $14,000 cashier’s check as a down payment for a trailer.
According to Brown, she felt so bad that same day, she says she went back to her bank to warn them.
She felt she was being scammed and was afraid she'd lose all her savings.
"I tell you if it wasn't for Christian, if it wasn't for Jesus, I would drop down dead.
I said, 'Jesus, Jesus help me to get out of this bank,'” cried Beverly Brown.
Brown recalls the day she learned that a $14,000 cashier’s check was cashed andher money was gone.
"I say,'Oh god, how could I have worked all these years,'” said Brown.
Beverly handed the cashier’s check to Belinda St. Fleur as a down payment for a mobile home she was buying.
In fact, the receipt states that Beverly paid $14,000 and that she still owes $6,000 for Belinda’s home on Amena Street.
But Beverly says that same day, she quickly regretted giving St. Fleur her cashier’s check.
"We told her give us back the check," said Brown.
Brown says St. Fleur refused.
"When you and your nephew start investigating and realize there are some red flags, what do you do?" Washington asked.
"Went straight back to Chase," Brown.
"What did you tell Chase?” asked News 6 Eryka Washington.
"I said I’ve been scammed!
I told the bank manager, and he said, 'Miss Brown, don't worry, we'll protect you,'" said Brown.
Beverly purchased the stop payment, and the bank signed and dated it.
"The gentleman, Carlos, who is at the branch there, he said, 'Miss. Brown, I will not let you lose your money,'" said Brown.
But a few weeks later, the $14,000 cashier’s check was cashed.
"She said, 'No there is no money left. We have paid the money.' I said, 'You have paid the money?' She said, 'Yes. We have given the money to Belinda St. Fleur.'"
Beverly says she rushed to Silver Star trailer park see if the trailer was left for her.
“We go, and it was an empty lot," said Brown.
Problem is, the stop payment did not work.
"Can you do a stop payment on a cashier's check?" Washington asked.
"No, you can't do a stop payment on a cashier's check," said Bryan Repple, of Repple Wealth Management.
Instead, Repple says a surety bond should have been offered. It cost more typically one to 15 percent of the total amount of the bond.
"It’s there to protect your money, it's guaranteed, so you have that in place and if the person does not follow through with the other end of the agreement, the bond would step in to protect that purchase," Repple said.
We did contact Chase bank, and they gave New 6 this statement: "If any customer suspects fraud, they should report it immediately so we can help them."
But Brown told us that she did ask for help.
"Belinda St. Fleur, they don't know her, she's never banked anything with them. I am their customer, for years I am their customer."
We did check, and Belinda St. Fleur recently passed away.
But how can you get results for yourself if you are in this situation?
You can file a complaint about banks or lenders with various agencies: USA.gov, Federal Reserve Consumer Help, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.