Two big financial institutions pass the buck on former OC trustee's fraudulent check
Both Edward Jones and BNY Mellon refuse to right the wrong on a $40,000 fraudulent check.
Everyone seems to agree that an Orange County probate attorney wrote herself checks after she was removed as a trustee, but the two well-known financial institutions involved refuse to right the wrong.
In March 2023, Sandra DeMeo wrote two checks to herself for $20,000 each from the Flint Trust.
The problem with the checks is that Ms. DeMeo had been removed as the trustee as of February 24, 2023.
DeMeo, who did not respond to an email for comment, refuses to return the money, and two well-known financial institutions are pointing fingers at each other.
DeMeo practices in Orange County, California, and we should include her in the OC probate mafia.
Even as she brazenly took this $40,000, she was recently in an Orange County court demanding more money from the trust.
Meanwhile, the Flint family remains in limbo nearly ten months later, with no one to help restore order.
I spoke with Guillermo Saade, who was a financial advisor with Edward Jones until August of 2023.
In April, Guillermo told me, he took over the administration of the trust. He was the one who first discovered that the checks were written after DeMeo had been removed.
While Edward Jones was administering the trust, there was a bank account associated with the trust which was run by BNY Mellon.
The checks were written from a BNY Mellon account.
I reached out to the media departments at Edward Jones and BNY Mellon but neither provided a statement.
I also reached out to Amit Shah, of Edward Jones, who is currently handling the account, but he also did not respond.
So, who is responsible for fixing this?
First, it’s DeMeo, but she refuses to return the money.
Which of the two institutions should fix this?
Even Guillermo wasn’t sure, though he told me he put more blame on BNY Mellon.
There are supposed to be fraud protections on these checks.
DeMeo, it appears, ordered checks while still a trustee, and then wrote herself these two checks after she was removed.
Guillermo told me that when he spoke with Edward Jones legal department, they instructed him to contact BNY Mellon.
BNY Mellon, meanwhile, blew him off, promising to “look into the matter” while never actually looking into the matter.
The Flint family is getting the same run around. Here is part of an email they received from the legal department at BNY Mellon on October 27, 2023.
Hi, I have been advised that you should direct your questions on this matter to call Brian Rull at XXX_XXX_XXXX or Brenda Ryan at XXX-XXX-XXXX. They are both with Edward Jones and work in their Legal Department. Thank you.
The legal departments at each bank point the finger at the other, and it is not entirely clear who is responsible for taking action.
Mike Flint sent me this email after all this back and forth.
Bank of New York Mellon after 7 months of “investigating” is kicking back to Edward Jones. (For the last 7 months Edward Jones is saying it is Bank of New Yorks responsibility and recently the Ed Jones Financial Advisor Amat.
Edward Jones has $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon’s financials are even more impressive.
BNY Mellon calls itself, “Relentlessly Client-Focused” while Edward Jones promises, “you'll build personal connections with your financial advisor throughout your partnership,” on their website.
In reality, both of these financial institutions, who manage more than a $1 trillion, would rather their clients eat $40,000- what amounts to rounding error- than take responsibility for fixing this problem.
The Flint family remains in limbo.
Update:
After the article was released, I received this statement from Edward Jones.
We will continue to work directly with the client and are not able to comment further.
Postscript:
Check out the previous articles on the series on Orange County. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25. Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39, Part 40, Part 41, Part 42, Part 43, and Part 44.
The OC probate Mafia is on the ropes, but they are not out. Please consider contributing to the Orange County fundraiser so I can continue this investigation.