Truist Bank (formerly BB&T Bank) review: check being held by fraud department

November 21,2024 I opened a corporate bank account with Truist in Decatur, GA and deposited a check from the IRS for $30,088.90. Initially, as stated on my receipt, a portion of the deposit available would be $5525. That turned out not to be the case. Then I was told that the check was being vetted by the fraud department and would be released December 3. 2024.
That date came and went, and I couldn’t access any money. After being on hold for 1 hour, I was told the money would be released the next day the lag being due to the holidays. That next day I still had no access. I then stayed on hold that day for 30 minutes and was told to wait 1 more day.
On that day I went to a branch near my home in Morristown, Tennessee. The very nice lady there told me my account had been closed. Then I was told that the check could not be released until the IRS said it was valid and that it would take a month.
I received a letter from Christopher Smith on December 19, 2024. It said that there had been many attempts to reach me. I did not receive a call that I am aware of. I live alone and always have my cell phone with me, so I am not sure how I missed the call. It was stated that they would like to discuss the results of the review with me and if they did not hear from me, they would consider the case closed! Of course, I called but got sent to someone else.
Then I received a letter from Rachael Sickles on December 31, 2024, responding to a complaint I sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It stated that In order for the deposit to be reviewed for release I could provide the Tax Transcript from the Internal Revenue Service. I called the IRS right away and, in a few days, received the transcript for the ERC payment and went to the Morristown Truist again and had them send it. I wanted to make sure it was received and they called and confirmed that it was received.
I didn’t hear anything, so I reached out again. I was told that now the transcript was not sufficient because I sent it. They insisted they needed to get the same document from the IRS directly. I was also told that Truist had reached out 5 times and had not heard back from the IRS. I called the IRS and they said they had not heard anything requesting a document from Truist.
It has now been over a year since I made the deposit and have made numerous calls to both Truist and the IRS. Checks from the IRS are only good for 1 year. I have already received a letter showing the interest earned on that check from the IRS for tax purposes.
The consumer advocates have recommended that I go to the local press in Atlanta but all I want is my money. I sold my businesses in 2021 which is why there are 2 addresses in my paperwork. My businesses were in the Metro- Atlanta area but since I have retired, I spend most of my time in a family place in Tennessee. Right after I retired, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Because of that I have bills that have drained my resources, and I need this money.
The business account is Georgia Franchising Inc.
EIN – [protected] Account number – [protected]

I was contacted by Truist employee Rachel Sickles in April of 2025 that the IRS had pulled back these funds. This year I have asked for proof that this happened because it was requested by the IRS. The person I spoke to that time at Truist said that they were sending it up the line and they would reach out the next week. No one reached out. When I called to follow up, I was told my files did not exist.
Since then I have reached out to Diana Harshbarger’s office and they contacted the IRS The IRS profess they never received it from Truist. This is the response I received from them referencing the Bureau of Financial management.
10/10/2025
BFS systems say the bank still has the money. So, unless the bank can prove they sent the money back to the IRS, the bank is obligated to release it to the payee named on the check, which is Georgia Franchising Inc. (EIN020708686)
Linda Kristine Knipp 678.358.7909
[protected]@gmail.com