But when she went to cash the check, even though it cleared, her account was frozen instead.
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When she couldn't get the funds release over a month, she got Nina Pineda and 7 On Your Side to help.
Sing mom Kim Tapia found herself in a tailspin suddenly this summer. She was about to move from Staten Island for a fresh start in Georgia with her son Kyle -- until all of her money disappeared.
She's missing a check for $30,000, a settlement for a wrongful termination after Tapia was fired from her job following brain surgery, which left her temporarily blind.
The big check for was flagged for fraud by her bank.
Tapia said that she brought both the court decision and a letter from the lawyer awarding her the settlement to her branch and deposited the check.
She said the teller told her they didn't need to see the information, but then five days later her account was frozen.
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"I went back down to the branch, they were getting tired of me going to the branch, they wouldn't pick up my calls or anything," Tapia said. "Every time I spoke to somebody I was being told the check was fake."
TD closed her account and Tapia could not track down the deposited check which had cashed and cleared the issuer's bank account.
"So I had Citibank saying they didn't have it and TD Bank saying they didn't have it either," Tapia said.
With no funds the realtor couldn't afford to enroll her son in his school or even keep their car insured.
"My registration had gotten suspended so now I can't drive the car because the registration is suspended," Tapia said. "I reached out to you guys in desperation."
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So 7 On Your Side spoke to both reps at both banks and they got on the same page stat.
"Thank you so much, I got my money, I really appreciate it," Tapia said.
TD Bank said they investigated and took appropriate action--achieving a positive resolution for Tapia.
And after a month a half, Tapia got her missing money.
If you're dealing with a large check, make sure you see a branch manager and ask them what type of ID and proof they need so they don't flag the check for fraud.
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