Ascend Federal Credit Union – $50k stolen from me at ascend

I’ve been a loyal member of Ascend FCU for 33 years. I had multiple personal and business accounts. I’m from the Tullahoma area where Ascend originates, and both of my grandparents worked at AEDC and retired from there. We really used to love this place. It’s so unfortunate that it doesn’t care about its members anymore, because Ascend in the past was all about community and serving its members.

In August 2023, I trusted them with a $50,000 transaction, expecting it to be secured in an escrow-style account for 60 days. The loan officer led me to believe the money would be put in a secured account for exactly that purpose. Instead, this same employee — who was later arrested twice in the months that followed and soon after fired from Ascend — mishandled the transaction and deposited the funds into an account that wasn’t secured, and my money was stolen. Ascend swept it under the rug and took no accountability.

When I brought this to their attention, I wasn’t suing them — I was simply trying to understand what happened and how my money was stolen. Instead of listening, they avoided me, pushed everything onto their lawyers, and I was told this was a “civil matter” between me and the person who stole my money. I was told Ascend had no part in the theft because they saw nothing wrong with the transaction. That is a complete lie. Their employee failed to flag what was, unknown to me, a fraudulent transaction, and she set up the account completely wrong with no safeguards, which directly enabled the theft and loss of $50,000. It was just easier for Ascend to put the blame on the customer and tell me to “get a lawyer and figure it out.”

This $50,000 loss destroyed my business and life savings, and Ascend has done nothing to make it right. If this can happen to me after 33 years of loyalty, it can happen to anyone. This bank is not safe.

Mistakes happen, but the higher-ups and branch managers showed zero integrity by avoiding accountability. This bank used to care about its members, but it’s not the same bank I’ve been with for 33 years. No integrity, no standards, and apparently no training for employees. Instead of making it right, they made it easier to blame the customer.

Ascend doesn’t value its members. I’m a 33-year customer with multiple accounts, and they treated me like trash — like I was the one who did something wrong, like I was the thief. In the past, it was about community and serving the members of this bank. Not anymore.

Try losing $50,000 to the point where you cannot operate your business, especially when you’re trying to help someone. To structure a transaction at a bank, at a place I trusted for 33 years, only to be robbed. It all happened at ascend Charlotte branch. My money was stolen out of ascend account yet ascend claims they have no part in the dispute or theft it’s a civil dispute between me and the guy and I should let a lawyer handle it. When the employee enabled the theft it is your responsibility and duty to fix this.

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