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  4. Found Ancient Citibank CD, Citi Says They Escheated It To NYS, NYS Says They Didn't Get It.

Found Ancient Citibank CD, Citi Says They Escheated It To NYS, NYS Says They Didn't Get It.

Paul_L
  |     |   5 posts since 2018

We found an ancient FDIC insured Citibank CD from 1979 in our safe. It is a very pretty signed paper document which automatically renews every 6 months at the Fed discount rate. Citibank was required to notify us before each maturity date and never did. We have many other accounts with Citibank, including a mortgage, so they can't say they didn't have our address. Citibank can't find a record of the account number. They say it must have been escheated to NYS long ago. The NYS Comptroller doesn't have any record of it. The Comptroller of the Currency doesn't respond to complaints. The CD apparently got lost between Citi and NYS! Will the FDIC insure the loss? Is this a theft? Is it fraud? What do I do next?

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alan1
  |     |   877 posts since 2015
You write that: "The NYS Comptroller doesn't have any record of it. " I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you checked at https://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/ and found nothing. Perhaps that's all you've done; perhaps not. It may be that you've already done what I'm suggesting.
I would suggest that you very carefully go through the entire website of the Comptroller's Office re unclaimed funds and lost money. Perhaps you should file a paper claim, enclosing all relevant documentation. See https://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/forms/ouf_blank.pdf

There may be additional information and avenues to pursue mentioned on the website -- I just spent less than two minutes looking at it, so I don't what's there.
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Paul_L
  |     |   5 posts since 2018
Thanks for the link to the paper claim procedure. I'm in the process of doing that. I've also started a complaint with the Comptroller of the Currency. Citibank insists that I have to go to the branch that issued the CD at Park and 57 St in Manhattan. My wife bought the CD with a bonus she received in 1979 across the street from her office. Believe it or not, she is a NY CPA and was a principal in the tax department of a big CPA firm at the time. She bought the CD, brought it home, stuck it in the safe, and forgot about it.
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alan1
  |     |   877 posts since 2015
Your description of events is puzzling. Originally, you wrote that "we" had a CD. Now you write that someone else "bought the CD, brought it home, stuck it in the safe, and forgot about it." That sounds like the owner never reported interest to tax authorities nor received any bank statements or 1099s related to the CD. One piece of paper was received in 1979, and neither the bank nor the owner ever did anything else. I don't get it.
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Paul_L
  |     |   5 posts since 2018
My wife bought it with a bonus check. We file a joint tax return. She prepares it. She's a retired CPA. Citi would issue a single 1099 each year for the aggregate of all of our accounts. This CD was the only Citi account which was not joint. Citi never sent us notifications of approaching maturities for the CD.
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alan1
  |     |   877 posts since 2015
And the owner never received any monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual statements, listing the CD? Very odd.
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alan1
  |     |   877 posts since 2015
You should also go through your income tax returns from 1979 onward, and see when you stopped reporting interest. That might give you some idea of when Citibank transmitted funds to the State of New York. Also, if you have financial records from the period when you stopped reporting interest, it's conceivable that you learn that the CD had been closed and that one or more owners had actually received the proceeds.

Good luck with this. Hope it works out for you.
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me1004
  |     |   1,379 posts since 2010
Excellent. Since OP forgot all about this account, and it is "ancient," it is very possible that OP also forgot that he/she closed the CD. :) Paul_L, do need to track through all your ancient records to see if you closed it and have forgotten about that.
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Confused1
  |     |   87 posts since 2018
My safe is also full of CD paperwork that goes back a long time and I've just never got around to throwing it away when I cashed out or moved the funds elsewhere. This is a reminder to us all though that clearing this stuff out regularly is a necessary chore so our families don't have to deal with when we pass. Thankfully I have it all on computer nowadays and it will be easy for my kids to access the information although I do kid them that they will never crack the password. One of the members here mentioned that she prints out a report every year less dollar value the and gives it to the beneficiaries so they have the information when the time comes that they will need it.
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Paul_L
  |     |   5 posts since 2018
My wife never throws out old tax documents. She sticks them in document boxes and tells me to take them up into the attic. 39 years later I can no longer climb the ladder into the attic. I know the old returns are there but I can't reach them. Does anybody have any youngsters available who don't have allergies that can be triggered by 39 years of dust, who can read and who can climb into my attic?

The very pretty printed document says explicitly that it can only be redeemed at the branch that issued it by surrendering the document. Since I still have the original document I have to assume that Citi would not have been stupid enough to redeem it without receiving the document in exchange.
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Confused1
  |     |   87 posts since 2018
I've had hundreds of CD's over the last 40 years and I have to say I've never had to turn in the document to cash it out or reinvest it although some have stated that the document needs to be turned in. With all due respect, by your own admission you have the tax information in your attic that can help resolve the situation fairly quickly so why the reluctance to try and instead start tossing around accusations of fraud or theft. I suggest you pay a family member or handyman to bring down all the boxes for your inspection and be done with it for once and for all. Sooner or later it has to done by either you or your heirs.
Good luck.
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Paul_L
  |     |   5 posts since 2018
https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/2018-05/FinCEN%20Ruling%20CD%20and%20Loan%20Rollover%20Relief_FINAL%20508-revised.pdf

It talks about rollover CDs. It says "each time a loan is renewed or a certificate of deposit is rolled over, the bank establishes another formal banking relationship and a new account is created."

Citi is claiming that the CD became dormant because we didn't communicate with them. The CD document says "One month before each maturity date of your Savings Certificate, Citibank will remind you that your account is nearing maturity. Your account balance will be automatically renewed unless you notify us in person or in writing."

The FINCEN ruling specifically clarifies that, for this 6 month CD, a new account is created every six months. That means that it can never become dormant and be escheated, because each account only exists for 6 months. But, a Citi manager says it must become dormant and been escheated but Citi can find no record of such escheatment.

The Citi manager is also saying that we must have redeemed the certificate. But, the certificate explicitly states that the original must be surrender in order to redeem it. We still have the original, therefore we did not redeem it.

A local lawyer wants a retainer of $5000 or 40% of any recovery to pursue the matter. Hmpff! I think I'll pursue the matter through the NYS Comptroller, the Comptroller of the Currency, and my local assemblyman and congressman. If Citi says they escheated it but the NYS Comptroller never received it then Citi must be filing a false instrument at the very least.

Does anybody have any ideas about how I can acquire more leverage?
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alan1
  |     |   877 posts since 2015
You claim that, as a matter of law, that the CD "can never become dormant..." It appears that the Office of the New York State Comptroller does not share your legal opinion:

Banks, insurance companies, corporations and the courts are among the many organizations required by law to report dormant accounts to the State Comptroller. These organizations must attempt to notify you by mail and publish the information in newspapers. Despite these efforts, many funds remain unclaimed and are turned over to the Office of the State Comptroller.

Types of Unclaimed Funds Accounts
Bank Accounts – savings, checking and CDs
https://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/about.htm

My suggestion is that the account owner concentrate on the specific facts relating to the account. I don't think the account owner should try to make a legal argument that the account could not have become dormant, under any circumstances, based on your considered legal analysis.
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Confused1
  |     |   87 posts since 2018
Also check this article
https://www.thebalance.com/places-to-look-unclaimed-money-2388380
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