A Seattle man says Bank of America owes him $125,000, but the financial giant is refusing to pay. He thinks other bank customers, who expected a handsome earning on their investments, might be in a similar situation.
William Bossen owns a bank bill -- a type of bond which was common in the 1980s. It was similar to a CD, but it had much higher interest rates. He got it as a gift from his grandfather.
“Wow, what a gift my grandfather gave me. This is amazing. My mother squirreled it away. I had no idea. I forgot about it,” said Bossen.
Bossen says his grandfather bought him the $20,135 bill from Rainier Bank in 1980. Seafirst Bank bought Rainier Bank, and Bank of America bought Seafirst.
In 2015, Bossen went to Bank of America to redeem his bill, which by then was worth more than $100,000, but a bank manager responded with some bad news.
“He got up and made some phone calls, came back, and he told me they have no record,” Bossen said.
Bossen is now suing Bank of America for the value of the bill, roughly $125,000.
“When a bank consumes another bank, if you will, they take on all the liabilities and risks of that bank,” said Eric Harrison, Bossen's attorney.
Harrison said he found three previous Washington cases, which were strikingly similar to Bossen's. All settled out of court with Bank of America.
Bossen says his family did everything they should have. They kept the original bill in a safe deposit box. The document lists the beneficiary as William Bossen. All that's missing is the money.
“I was really surprised and let down,” he said.
Bank of America did not respond to a request for comment.
