A Montrose lawyer has filed suit against Citibank, claiming the bank should pay because it failed to warn her about a check fraud scheme, allegedly leading her to be tricked into transferring funds to "criminal actors."
The lawsuit was initially filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, but was removed to federal court in L.A. on Nov. 28.
The lawsuit involves a trust account for the law office of attorney Pauliana N. Lara.
"Lara was a victim of a sophisticated illegal scheme to defraud attorneys and law firms from tens of thousands of dollars throughout the United States," the lawsuit states. "Citi was aware or should have been aware of such fraudulent check schemes."
A potential new client emailed Lara about "assistance in finalizing a settlement agreement with a Fortune 500 company," the lawsuit states. The "scam client" said he had an agreement to settle an employment discrimination with equipment manufacturer John Deere, the suit says.
A woman purporting to work for John Deere later emailed Lara and eventually sent her a cashier's check for the settlement which Lara deposited into her trust account at Citibank at a local branch office, the suit says.
After the bank confirmed that the check had cleared, Lara wired $90,000 to the "scam client," the suit says. She later discovered that her Citibank account was overdrawn by $25,000.
"Citi did not inform Lara that the Citi cashier's check was counterfeit until several days after the funds were transferred," the lawsuit states. "Citi has the ability to immediately check if a cashier's check is counterfeit based on the serial number. Actually, the Citi cashier's check was in the possession of Citi for five days, providing sufficient time for Citi to evaluate whether it was genuine, funds were available and notify Lara of any issues."
In the lawsuit, Lara claims damages of at least $90,000.
She is represented by attorneys Mary M.Park and Bruce D. Abel, of Park Law Firm, of Los Angeles.
Law Office of Pauliana N. Lara v. Citibank, N.A., U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2:23-cv-1000