Devon Bank Trust Department - Putting Them Out of Business

I’ve been diligently working on letting the entire world know this bank is financially exploiting their elderly and disabled clients through guardianships. I Xeroxed their court files, wrote a 33-page report describing (in detail) financial abuse to 19 of their clients (in seven years), mailed it to every State and Federal agency I could think of, spoke to all those agencies (absolutely lovely people), Senator Kirk ordered a Federal investigation (along with everyone else in DC), I walked my adopted victims up Capitol Hill, spoke to all our legislators about the problem, sent it to the probate court judges and Chief Judge (because Devon Bank was hiding their 2011 court records from me) then I put it on Congressional record a few months ago. Devon Bank, Janna Dutton and Josh Mitzen made history. I even set up a blog on the victims’ behalf.

Last week, one of the probate court judges refused to approve Devon Bank’s fees. She said they charged way too much to manage an estate. God love that judge for looking out for the best interests of her wards.  I will publish the fees for the other banks so you can find one much more reasonably priced.  I try to court watch for all my adopted victims, make sure I know what's going on..... and now I'm adopting others while I'm on the 18th. 

I’m hoping to put that bank out of business or at least the Trust Department. I made a commitment to Rick Block (Senior VP of Trusts) and Snipped that I would do something about the fact that Snipped which just got worse. Why would Janna Dutton set up a trust account at the most expensive bank in the city if she was looking out for her clients best interests? I know, she was only looking to trap her client in guardianship to set up her retirement fund. For those of you emailing and complaining about this woman, don’t worry, I’m onto her next. If you’re upset about Josh Mitzen, email me at TamiGoldmann@aol.com. Someone is collecting information about him and will file a complaint. I don’t have time but send me the case number and information.

Devon Bank Locations in Assisted Living Facilities

The Meadows of Glen Ellyn
60 N. Nicoll Ave.
Glen Ellyn , IL 60137
630-446-1600

The Devonshire of Lisle
1700 Robin Lane
Lisle, IL 60532
630-963-1880

The Seasons at Glenview Place
4501 Concord Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062
847-803-7100

The Heritage of Des Plaines
800 S. River Road
Des Plaines, IL 60016
847-294-0100

The Hallmark
2960 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60657
773-880-2960

The Kenwood of Lakeview
3121 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60657
773-404-9800

Hawthorn Lakes
10 E. Hawthorn Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847-367-2516

Willows
10 East Hawthorn Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847-367-2516

They have other branches but I have to drive over to them.  It "looks like" they're in Section 8 Housing and other facilities?  These facilities are owned by Brookdale Senior Living whom I believe took over Sunrise not too long ago.  A woman at one of these facilities had her account at Devon bank and she was moved by her niece to a nursing home.  "Somehow" Devon Bank got involved, trapped the woman in guardianship.  That was no coincidence.

Devon Bank Trust Department Liquidating Assets of their Clients

When you open up a trust account at Devon Bank, they liquidate all your assets into cash.  If you have a gold coin collection, jewelry, stock portfolio, bonds, annuities (or planned well for your retirement and are living off the interest of your investment portfolio), the trustees will sell everything then invest your money into bank stocks.  (I'm looking at all their clients and they're not making them any money.)

What do they get out of this?  Why are they investing money into Washington Mutual, Bank of India, Federal National Mortgage, etc.?  The client makes nothing on interest so why do they even bother?

If you have personal property (like jewelry, coins, a car, etc.) that have sentimental value, too bad for you.  The trustees at Devon Bank liquidate all your assets whether you like it or not.  (I'm sure Rick Block and Sally Griffin wouldn't like it if their personal property was being sold, they're thanking their lucky stars they don't have themselves as Guardians of their Estate).

I don't understand it?  My college education is accounting (and their accounting mistakes alone give me nightmares) and I can't figure out what they're getting out of liquidating someone's portfolio only to invest in bank stocks that yeild nothing in return for the investment?  (1-4% in interest, really.)  What am I missing?

I'll publish a list of banks that Devon Bank invests their clients money into next week when I have more time.

Devon Bank Complaint Department

Naturally, I’ve become the complaint department for this bank and I knew I would. A few weeks ago, I got five complaints in two days. Countless more since July.

I explained all your problems and turned it over to the ProbateSharks.com Investigative Team. You can also ask for their help here - verenusl@gmail.com. Lucius Verenus. (Lucius means "light" and is no relation to Lucifer.  I just looked up it's meaning because the guy intimidates me a little.)   They pulled through the other day with a list of organizations (and have numerous other resources on their site).

How do you report banks or financial institutions?

The first thing you should do is call the main office of Devon Bank, the head branch. I tried to get someone involved at the top and nothing happened but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the effort. You don’t have to go through the great lengths I did, just make one call.  Keep a record of your email, phone conversation, all the people you spoke with and what was said, dates, times, etc. Regardless of the outcome, it’s a good faith gesture on your part and shows that you’re trying to resolve the problem before you report them. Obviously, if you’re writing me then you’ve been unsuccessful or simply don’t know where to turn.

ProbateSharks suggests you contact the Better Business Bureau but when I looked up Devon Bank, it says they’re not accredited. In order to be endorsed by the BBB, you have to ask and when you do, you’re making a promise that you’ll solve consumer complaints and live up to their standards (which are quite high). This is Devon Bank’s page:

http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/banks/devon-bank-in-chicago-il-283

Then follow the rest of the links on their site:

http://probateshark.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-report-unethical-banks-and.html

File a complaint with the IL Department of Professional Regulations, the Federal Reserve (and I don’t think Devon Bank is under their jurisdiction but you should consider filing a complaint anyway since their site is so user friendly), the FDIC and the Attorney General’s office consumers' complaint division. Most of these web sites have online forms but if you have to mail it, make sure you keep the originals and send copies registered mail.  They don't want personal information either.  Like your social security, credit card or bank account numbers.

There is also a website that you can check your banks rating. They call it the “Texas Ratio” and this is the description:

To calculate the Texas Ratio, you divide a bank's bad debt on the books by the amount of money it has to absorb the bad debt. If the number approaches 100% (or higher), the Texas Ratio suggests that the bank is more likely to fail.

You can look up any bank on this website:

http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/bank-ratings-search.aspx?t=cb

Devon Bank’s rating is here:

http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/memorandums-memos.aspx?fedid=347639

In fairness, I checked my bank with both the Better Business Bureau and Texas Ratio. My bank is accredited and its score is perfect on both sites. Banks are FDIC insured too so I'm not completely sure why the ratio is important other than measuring desperation?

I would appreciate it if you would still notify me in regard to the problems that you’re having with Devon Bank and I hope you find this information helpful.