A Texas-based seafood distributor has filed a lawsuit against two major banks and an unknown individual, alleging fraudulent activity involving a significant financial loss. Marine Foods Express, Ltd. (MFE) lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on June 28, 2024, naming BMO Bank N.A., Wells Fargo Bank N.A., and John Doe as defendants.
According to the complaint, MFE issued a check for $197,462.00 from its Wells Fargo account to its vendor, Stellar Seas Imports. However, an unauthorized individual fraudulently endorsed and deposited the check into an account at BMO Bank that did not belong to Stellar Seas Imports. The lawsuit accuses BMO of negligence for accepting and processing the fraudulently endorsed check without proper verification, leading to substantial financial losses for MFE. "BMO’s failure to exercise ordinary care resulted in the wrongful conversion of funds rightfully belonging to Plaintiff," states the complaint.
The issue came to light when Stellar Seas Imports contacted MFE about a past-due invoice on September 2, 2022. This prompted MFE to notify Wells Fargo of the fraudulent transaction. Subsequent investigations revealed that the check had been deposited at BMO under suspicious circumstances. Despite providing an affidavit of check fraud from Stellar Seas Imports and repeatedly seeking reimbursement from BMO, MFE's claims were denied or ignored by BMO over several months.
In addition to negligence claims against BMO, MFE also accuses Wells Fargo of converting its funds by honoring a check that was not properly payable due to the fraudulent endorsement. The plaintiff argues that any money transferred by Wells Fargo should be considered as coming from Wells Fargo's own funds since it was not authorized by MFE.
MFE is seeking multiple forms of relief from the court: damages for financial losses incurred due to negligence and wrongful actions by BMO; restitution for unjust enrichment gained by BMO; exemplary damages; equitable relief including restitution and disgorgement; injunctive and declaratory relief; pre-judgment interest; attorneys' fees; costs of suit; post-judgment interest; and any other relief deemed justly entitled at law or in equity.
Representing Marine Foods Express are attorneys Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr., Sharon A. Harris, Matthew C. De Re, Jeffrey D. Blake from Zimmerman Law Offices P.C., along with Charles M.R. Vethan from Vethan Law Firm P.C.. The case no is. 1:24-cv-5489.