$11,000 meant for Wake Forest woman's bank account directed somewhere else

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Wake Forest woman turned to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson after thousands of dollars meant for her were sent to the wrong bank account.

"I'm looking for it, and it's not there," Kimberly Lewis said.

This all started in 2023. The college where Lewis took some classes was awaiting two student loan deposits totaling around $5,200. For both deposits, Lewis said she put in her banking information.

However, she made a mistake. Instead of using her USAA account number, she used her USAA member number. She didn't catch the mistake right away but said when she did realize it, she took immediate action.

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"Let's just call the bank, call the bank, and of course that's when I found out that my member number is actually someone else's account number," Lewis said.

That means someone else received the two deposits worth $5,200.

"There was no error on their part. You know they did as instructed: sent the money to the account that was listed," Lewis said.

When it came time for her $6,200 tax refund for 2023, Lewis got confirmation the IRS paid the money, but it also didn't go into her USAA account.

She rang up her bank again.

"Called just to verify, and that's when I discovered I did the exact same thing. I'm like, wow!"

Lewis said she provided USAA with several documents to show she never got the money and even got the help of her CPA, Mitchell Anthony.

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The man had surgery and previously paid out of pocket for benefits in case he was hospitalized. When it came time to take advantage of those benefits, that's where he hit roadblocks.

"Typically if we get the wrong account number or the wrong name sometimes somebody tries to put money into an account that does not have the taxpayer name. The bank returns the money," Anthony said.

But no matter what steps Lewis or her CPA took, they couldn't get the money returned.

"They say they just can't go into that person's account, to take the money," Lewis said.

At the suggestion of Anthony, Lewis reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

"I'm just hoping that you're able to pull through and get me my money back," Lewis said to Wilson.

Wilson reached out to USAA and received this statement:

"In the event that a member directs funds to the wrong account, we attempt to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. Sometimes, this requires additional details or involvement from third parties, which can take time. Because of this, we urge members to report the circumstances to us as early as possible. We're committed to taking care of our members while also taking the necessary steps to ensure that the investigation is thorough."

After Wilson reached out, Lewis got good news when it came to the $5,200 of her student loan money that got put in someone else's account.

The $5,200 was sent to her school portal. She now says her account balance is paid off.

When it comes to her tax refund, she said USAA is still waiting on paperwork from the IRS, but hopes that will soon be resolved too.

She said this has been an ordeal, and she has this advice for others:

"Whenever they doing anything like this, just make sure that they are placing their account number where it says account number and not member number."