Bank, Fintech & Crypto Fraud Recovery Lawyer

Q: How does the firm handle these matters?

Graydon Sommer PLLC is a Massachusetts plaintiff-side firm focused on pre-litigation work: investigation, evidence preservation, regulatory coordination, and demand-letter campaigns. For matters requiring formal litigation, the firm coordinates with experienced trial counsel under separate written agreement. Engagement begins after confidential intake and conflicts clearance.

Bank, Fintech & Crypto Fraud Recovery

We represent victims of bank wire fraud, fintech scams, and cryptocurrency theft against banks, fintech platforms, exchanges, and payment processors.

Overview

Wire fraud, fintech transfers, and cryptocurrency scams move money in hours. Massachusetts Chapter 93A provides a consumer demand-letter framework for recovery. Available remedies turn on the transfer type, the platform, and the loss facts.

Americans reported more than $11 billion in cryptocurrency-related losses to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025, an all-time record. 4

Fraud Patterns

Common fact patterns include:

Impersonation scams (perpetrators posing as government officials, bank employees, or technology support)
Business email compromise targeting wire transfer authorizations
Pig-butchering investment fraud through fake cryptocurrency platforms
Exchange failures, frozen accounts, and unrecoverable transactions
Romance scams inducing financial transfers
Account takeover and unauthorized wires from compromised credentials

Potential defendants include national and state-chartered banks, fintech applications and money transmitters, cryptocurrency exchanges and money services businesses, payment processors, custodial wallet providers, and individual perpetrators identifiable through forensic investigation.

What Laws May Apply

The applicable framework depends on the transfer type and the loss facts.

Federal Regulation E covers many everyday consumer electronic transfers, including debit card transactions and online banking errors. It generally does not cover wire transfers, business-account transactions, or authorized transfers induced by fraud. Bank wires follow a separate legal framework.

Massachusetts Chapter 93A is the state’s principal consumer-protection statute. Consumer claimants may recover actual damages, attorney’s fees and costs, and, where conduct is willful, knowing, or in bad faith, enhanced damages of two to three times actual damages. A separate provision permits business-to-business claims where the conduct occurred mainly in Massachusetts. Where the loss involves securities or commodity-futures contracts, Chapter 93A’s enhanced-damages remedies may not apply and recovery may be limited to actual damages.

Common-law theories of fraud, conversion, negligence, breach of contract, and breach of banking duties may apply. Related practice areas include Chapter 93A consumer protection, securities litigation, and data privacy and cybersecurity.

How a Demand Letter Works

Chapter 93A generally requires a written demand at least 30 days before a consumer files suit. The demand identifies the claimant, describes the unfair or deceptive practice, and states the injury. The 30-day period creates a statutory settlement-tender window before formal litigation.

The 30-day rule does not apply to counterclaims, cross-claims, or respondents with no office or assets in Massachusetts.

Where the violation is willful, knowing, or refused in bad faith after demand, enhanced damages of two to three times actual damages may be available, along with attorney’s fees and costs.

First 72 Hours

Recovery efforts run on parallel tracks:

Emergency reversal requests to originating and receiving institutions
Reports to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Complaints to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division
Civil demand claims under Chapter 93A
Blockchain forensics in cryptocurrency matters to identify exchanges, custodians, or wallet infrastructure for preservation requests

Documentation gathered in the first 72 hours frequently determines what recovery is feasible. Preserve communications with perpetrators (emails, text messages, screenshots). Save wire transfer forms, bank statements, and account agreements. Do not respond to additional perpetrator contact. Do not delete any account, app, or communication.

The firm handles bank wire fraud, fintech transfer failures, and cryptocurrency platform misconduct matters with documented losses of $100,000 or more.

What to Bring to a Consultation

Relevant materials:

Wire transfer forms and confirmations
Bank statements and account agreements
Communications with perpetrators
Transaction records and blockchain addresses
Regulatory complaints and law enforcement reports
Correspondence from financial institutions

Documentation gaps do not prevent evaluation. Many matters depend on records obtained through voluntary preservation requests, institutional correspondence, blockchain forensics, regulatory channels, or, if litigation becomes necessary, subpoenas and discovery coordinated with experienced trial counsel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover money lost to a wire fraud or impersonation scam in Massachusetts?

Recovery depends on report speed, institutional security procedures, and the available legal theory. Chapter 93A allows consumers to send a 30-day written demand to banks, fintech operators, or exchanges engaged in unfair or deceptive practices. Where the violation is willful, knowing, or refused in bad faith, enhanced damages of two to three times actual damages may be available, plus attorney’s fees and costs.

What is a Chapter 93A demand letter?

A written notice generally required before a consumer files suit. The letter identifies the unfair or deceptive practice, the injury, and the relief requested. The 30-day period creates a statutory settlement-tender window. The rule does not apply to counterclaims, cross-claims, or respondents with no office or assets in Massachusetts. An unreasonable or bad-faith response may preserve enhanced-damages arguments.

Can I sue a bank for failing to stop a fraudulent wire transfer?

Banks may face liability where a viable legal theory exists: failure to follow agreed security procedures, ignored institutional red flags, or misrepresentations to the customer. Federal Regulation E covers some consumer electronic transfers but generally does not cover wire transfers, business-account transactions, or authorized transfers induced by fraud. State-law claims for fraud, conversion, negligence, breach of contract, and unfair practices may apply depending on the transfer type and governing agreement.

Can I recover funds sent to a cryptocurrency exchange or platform?

Cryptocurrency recovery is harder than wire fraud because transactions are irreversible at the protocol level. Recovery routes include blockchain forensics to trace funds to custodial exchanges, preservation requests, regulatory complaints, and civil demand claims against exchanges or platforms engaged in unfair or deceptive practices. Where the loss involves a token qualifying as a security or commodity-futures contract, Chapter 93A’s enhanced-damages remedies may not apply.

What should I do in the first 72 hours?

Preserve all communications with perpetrators. Save wire forms, statements, and account agreements. Report to the originating bank, the receiving institution, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division. Do not respond to perpetrator contact. Do not delete any account, app, or communication.

How does the firm handle these matters?

Recovery turns on speed and proof. We begin with confidential intake and conflicts clearance, then move at once to preserve evidence, trace the transfers, and engage the banks, exchanges, and regulators while the record remains within reach. That record anchors a statutory demand under Chapter 93A against every party with exposure, built to position the matter for resolution, and for suit if resolution does not follow.

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