by Serena Burman
Special to the Sounder
Last week, without telling my partner Ken, I withdrew thousands of dollars from the checking account we share. I couldn’t say a word because I was under investigation by the U.S. Marshal for money laundering, and if I told him he’d be investigated too.
I learned this after a Bank of America text alerted me about a suspicious transaction attempt on my credit card. I called the number to discover there were accounts in my name in California and Texas funneling millions of dollars through accounts in Mexico and Columbia. Because my case involved an ongoing federal investigation, the bank transferred me to the Social Security Administration.
Charles at the SSA stayed on the phone with me for hours, guiding me through every step of the day. He filed an “ADR Form” (a process to void my current social security number and issue a new one). He contacted the local Sheriff’s Office to request no action be taken regarding the warrant for my arrest. They called me to confirm what Charles said: I’d be visited by agents from the SSA and Treasury Department to issue and link my new SSN.
He stayed on the phone while I went to my bank. Money had to be withdrawn before my account was frozen (to keep the crooks out while the new SSN was being issued). He recommended a fake reason for draining my account, but I told him I live in a small town and we all know each other. He told me to be myself.
Yes, this whole thing was a…
