So, some background. My wife is suffering from liver failure. One effect of that is called hepatic encephalopathy; when the liver cannot process toxins and chemicals that normally are disposed of, they effect areas of the brain involved in decision making, forgetfulness, among other things. Her first bout with this happened during a trip she took to Costa Rica (lucky).

So, knowing that, here’s the story. She called me from her hotel after being treated and said she had been contacted by the Texas Rangers (she is originally from Texas) and someone had stolen her identity. Okay, seems legit so far. She has a ahem past, so I’m not entirely surprised.

Later that night she texts again saying she needed $800 (we keep our finances separate). I’m suspicious but I Venmo it to her anyway, and then ask what it was for. She said the Texas embassy needed it or else she was going to be brought up on charges. My suspicions immediately confirmed, I told her to stop answering their calls, call her bank to have the charges reversed, and I filed a claim with the FBI. I called my bank about my Venmo transaction (which they had already called me with a fraud alert; let that be a lesson kids, credit unions are the way to go) and they reversed my charge.

Fast forward, she’s back in the states and her HE has settled down. She’s a very intelligent person and in a normal state of mind would’ve detected this instantly. She was mortified and embarrassed that she did it in the first place.

Bank of America, instead of just reversing the charges, opened an investigation, which took forever, and finally this week denied her claim. She lost over $2600, which, since she isn’t currently able to work because of her disease, is a substantial amount of money.

Do we have any legal avenues to pursue? Any appeals process? Or do we get local media involved?