Lawsuit: Bank gave man's account to another with same name

A former area college student now living in Greece says Bank of America gave his money to another man with the same name – but nearly twice his age - and won't credit his account.

Konstantinos Alexopoulos said he's tried for years to get the mishap fixed and filed a lawsuit against the bank last month in the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County.

Alexopoulous, who lives in Greece, came to Pinellas County for college in 1992 and opened a money market account at Barnett Bank, which eventually became part of Bank of America, the suit says.

When Alexopoulous returned to Greece in 1997, he kept the Florida bank account as an "emergency fund," planning to one day return to the U.S., the suit said. He made periodic deposits, and the balance grew to $59,000 in 2003. Bank statements were sent to a family friend's home, but then the paperwork stopped coming.

When he checked on the account in 2005, the bank told him his balance was $1,400, according to the suit.

It turns out, the bank mixed up his account with that of a south Florida man, also named Konstantinos Alexopoulos, the suit says. That man was in his mid 60s at the time, while the local man was in his mid 30s.

"The person had a different Social Security number, his ID didn't match," said John George, a south Florida lawyer representing Alexopoulous. "The bank should have known better. And now that they acknowledge someone made a mistake, they should make it right."

A Bank of America representative said the lender could not comment on Alexopoulous' situation because of the pending lawsuit.

The older Alexopoulous ended up withdrawing the money, according to the suit.

Alexopoulous said the bank at first said it would investigate then stopped returning his calls. He said he contacted police and was told it was a civil matter.

George said it's not Alexopoulous' fault that the bank made a mistake, and he hopes a judge will force the bank to credit his client's account.