Partner Mark Lefkow from CSVL’s Atlanta office and partner Doug MacKelcan and associate Shana Smith from CSVL’s Charleston office combined forces to recover $701,455 in wire fraud proceeds for CSVL’s lawyer client.

The fraud was prompted by fraudulent wiring instructions that caused funds intended for a real estate transaction to be wired into an account controlled by a criminal enterprise. 

Two wire reversals by the lawyer’s bank and a report to the FBI failed to result in recovery of the funds. On two occasions, the bank that received the stolen money claimed that it closed the account and there was no money left from the lawyer’s wire.

CSVL filed suit in federal court and obtained account records showing that the bank that received the client’s wire had moved the money into a bank-controlled account. CSVL eventually gained the cooperation of the owner of the account to obtain an order for the bank to return the money to the lawyer. The bank complied and returned the funds.