This is the story of how Citibank stole close to $75,000 from my family more than 30 years ago and planned to get away with it.
The principal plus the interest sums up close to $20 Million Dollars (Urcuyo vs. Citibank is an actual case about how Citibank stole our money and it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt the fact that they stole the money and never returned it.
Some people might say that it happened to long ago and to give up fighting for justice, but I feel that it has a strong link to my past and is a large contributor to all which was taken from us when we were forced to leave Nicaragua. Citibank's actions deprived my family and I from a more stable and secure future in our lives. Better education, stability, and perhaps a more successful outlook.
How it all began
It all began when we went into exile in Guatemala in 1979. I left with my parents and paternal grandparents due to the civil unrest, which existed during that time. We had to leave because of political reasons and that is very important fact to know. My grandfather, Dr. Francisco Urcuyo Maliaño (Vice President with Somoza and President for a few hours prior to the arrival of the Sandinista Government (Communist Gov't. at that time). It is worth mentioning that the current Sandinista Gov't., this time around was elected by the people in a democratic fashion.
When the Sandinista Regime overthrew Somoza's regime out of power, all people related to Somoza went out into exile, which includes my family and I.
My grandfather was left alone in the Somoza's bunker and every allied had turned its back against Somoza's regime. Even the US, refuse to aid the government. The Sandinista claimed victory and we left 5 minutes before they took over the Nicaragua international Airport. The Nicaraguan Air Force was well aware that the war was lost taking off to neighboring countries leaving behind my grandfather without any way to get out alive. A few hours earlier that day, knowing the fact that there were no planes or pilots, my grandfather decided to call a friend, Guatemalan President, Mr. Romeo Lucas, who was friends with my grandfather during the period in which he served as Nicaraguan Ambassador in Guatemala. He sent an airplane which helped us escape.
We made an escape from Nicaragua narrowly escaping death. Anti Somoza's forces open fire against our plane and we had to tke off like a scene from a movie.
We later learned that bullets had struck the plane we were in but fortunately never realized that until we reached Guatemalan soil. We had made it alive.
I know that I can get into more detail but I also figure that initially, I must cover a lot of important information and then elaborate.
We arrived in Guatemala on Mid July 1979
We began to unpack our belongings, almost non existant due to the nature of our departure from Nicaragua. We were forced to leave behind almost all documentation including personal and important documents including but not limited to bank account information.
Days after the arrival into what would become to be known as our exile or political exile, my grandfather began to approach different banks he had money accouts with including Citibank, with the intention to recuperate some money for his survival and ours.
Beginning of Citibank lies
A Canadian Bank returned the money to my grandfather and to our surprise Citibank informed us that they deciced to surrender our money to the new Sandinista Government. Back then Citibank began to fabricate stories that later you can understand why they would make up those stories. Stories that later they cannot support with a single shred of evidence.
That was probably the first time I came across the word, confiscated. After pleading to Citibank for his money, my grandfather received letters from Citibank clearly stating the facts according to them.
In order to view the actual letter received by Citibank Officials from my grandfather's claim regarding his money, Click Here.
Who would not trust a high raking official from Citibank telling you that the Sandinista government confiscated your money and Citibank was no longer responsible for his trusted money deposited in their bank. Jaw dropping as it sounds. My grandfather relied on the truthfulness and reputation of such a powerful financial institution. And, that is what my grandfather did for many years to come.
U.S. Exile Began
My grandfather's family including myself would eventually come to the US in pursuit of the American Dream. My grandfather was into exile and hated every minute of it. He always wanted to be close to his home, his beloved Nicaragua.
He was always outraged how the US and other allies from Nicaragua would turn their backs on them and he would express his opinion about that for many years to come. In fact, El Diario Las Americas from Miami published more than 1000 articles written by him almost every week. Every article seemed to be focused on the bashing the Sandinista regime and the Carter Administration for their betrayal. He even wrote a Book called "Carter Mondale and the Sandinistas Administration".
I could go on and on but the relevance here, having written and published more than a thousand articles in that newspaper, he did not write a single article against Citibank because he trusted the word of that High Citibank Banking official, Mr. Eddie Rene Pinilla (Manager of the Caribbean and Central America). On that letter he clearly states that the money was turned over to the new government. Click Here
Not until a decade later we learned the truth about Citibank not ever turning the money to the Sandinistas
It was not until more than a decade into exile that we were able to take our concern about the whereabouts of our money to the Nicaraguan Government. Due to a change of government to a more democratic one allowed us to investigate if in fact, the Nicaraguan government had the money we deposited in Citibank, and according to a high banking official, the money was turned over to the Sandinista government more than a decade earlier.
We were finally allowed back into Nicaragua
My grandparents searched everywhere in Nicaragua including the banking regulatory agencies, the Minister of Finance's Office (Letter Attached), even the Banco Central de Nicaragua and all of them concluded that they had confiscated several things from my grandparents but never was any money turned over from Citibank.
Citibank Blamed The Sandinistas for taking the money but that was not the case
Citibank Blamed The Sandinistas for taking the money but that was not the case
Knowing that, my grandparents were outraged for being betrayed in such a manner and the banking giant had stolen their monies more than a decade ago. Money they truly needed, we truly needed for survival in many instances. I am a witness of those moments of desperation from my grandfather who was unable to work in his medical career and be the provider he was for his whole life. $75,000 would have made a big difference at that time, after all the equivalent for that amount today is equal to half a million dollars or more.
After learning the truth, I was outraged and decided to give help to my grandparents in their quest for justice. All the dire moments are memories from the hard exile life I shared with my grandparent, is why I decided to help my grandparents recuperate their money stolen from the banking giant and their corrupted officials.
The fight began in a Federal Court in Miami
After learning the truth, I was outraged and decided to give help to my grandparents in their quest for justice. All the dire moments are memories from the hard exile life I shared with my grandparent, is why I decided to help my grandparents recuperate their money stolen from the banking giant and their corrupted officials.
The fight began in a Federal Court in Miami
I began the fight against Citibank in 1990 and since then I have been fighting for what is rightfully my family's. Knowing the facts, the money was taken from my grandparents and never returned gave me a huge sense of injustice and the quest for justice began. (The majority of the money in the bank account was part of the national lottery won by my grandmother a few months before the bank robbed her; One can only think of that happy moment where she won the Nicaraguan National Lottery).
Helping my grandparents recuperate their money meant several things to me,
Bring justice for my grandparents
Help them spend their last years together with less worries about their finances
Re pay them for all they did for me, raising me since I was 10 years old
Closing of this case would also bring closing to the past and the desperate economic times we all lived during the exile
I could bring more reasons why I decided to embark in this case against Citibank but I must continue with the story.
We immediately then decided to sue the banking giant and I was in charge of looking for attorneys to take on the case and take on a contingency basis. We hired several attorneys and for the next 7 years I spent communicating between the bank, the attorneys,and my grandparents but it seemed to go nowhere. In 1997 I visited the law firm of Liebler Gonzales and Portuondo in Downtown Miami. They deciced to take on the case an sue the banking giant in Federal Court in Miami.
Liebler Gonzales & Portunondo got to work
We manage to bring to the courts several evidence which concluded that Citibank stole the money and never gave it back to my grandparents. It also concluded that the letter written form Citibank officials to my grandparents was completely wrong because not only there was no evidence that Citibank turned over the money to the new government but there was no record kept which show that either. At least none kept from Citibank, perhaps they thought that a lot of these account holders would be killed or jailed and would never ask for their money back. Moreover, the letter shows tremendous certainty on behalf of the banking official. He is so convincing of his lies that managed to convince my grandparent of the banking supposed innocence in their money being confiscated.
What happens next is the biggest charade of justice as it was not present in our case. Perhaps the long arm of the law did not reach as far as the long arm of corruption from the banking giant.
Jury came back in our favor unanimously and against Citibank for their wrongdoings
The jury came back unanimously in favor of my grandparent and the evidence were overwhelming against Citibank and even the judge agreed in the court findings that Citibank was guilty of all counts. But we received news later that the judge had reversed the jury's decision because the jury did not understand banking laws.
Please read the findings of fact and the conclusion of the case and see for yourself how damaging evidence is against Citibank and at the end disappears and turns into thin air. You can view the jury's instructions in the case , verdict, conclusions of law or "Citibank law" http://www.luisurcuyo.blogspot.com/
Many things came to our heads including;
How can the judge change the jury's unanimous verdict (after all a jury is able to send people to die in this country but they are not capable of understanding the corrupted actions of a bank)
How Citibank, with no evidence supporting their case, managed to persuade the judge in their favor
How the overwhelming evidence which mounted high against Citibank was not enough for the judge rule in our favor
Was Citibank responsible for the unexpected judge's decision?
Was Citibank going to get away with robbery once again?
The Law firm Liebler, Gonzales, and Portuondo were not as enthusiastic as they were at the beginning of the case but then again I could sense a different atmosphere half way down the trial. I helped the attorneys in providing key pieces of information which lead to the Jury's Fianl Decision which at the end made no difference.
Our attorneys started with 3 enthusiastic attorneys and we finish with 1 attorney who did not want to take the case to the Supreme Court. He basically said that the buck stops here basically. Having hired them on a contingency basis, I had little leverage for convincing them to take the case to the Supreme Court.
I searched for other law firms to take on the case and most attorneys I encountered said that the could not even consider fighting against the banking Goliath.
Went to Congress for help
I went to the US Congress for help with this injustice and was bounced around from Congressman to Congresswoman and from Chairman to Chairperson but all show no willingness to help us with our case. I have letters and records from Congress and the Chairman from the banking Committee at that time, Congressman Doug Bereuter. All seemed to be in vain and no real interest was shown from anybody to even review the injustices from Citibank and the Courts erroneous decisions.
Weeks turned into Months and months into years, and despite the tremendous disappointment from the US Courts, my grandfather and I maintained communication as usual every week regarding the current events from the case as well as the tactics we may be planning in our quest for bringing the bank to justice.
Citibank wanted to come back to Nicaragua after more than 20 years
My grandparents passed away but not since receiving the last disappointment. My grandfather learned that Citibank wanted to take over the Social Security Administration or Pensions in Nicaragua. After i learned this I immediately began to approach the newspapers and expose the bank to the media.
http://360.yahoo.com/luisurcuyo , this is my blog in which I have kept record of a lot of facts about the case including the time in which I wrote an article in the Nicaraguan Newspaper once I found out that Citibank wanted to handle the Social Security Money of Nicaraguan Citizens. I was outraged that this bank knew the facts about the case, robbed my grandfather, (a high ranking Nicaraguan official) and then decides to enter the country once again without paying their dues.
Article in the Nuevo Diario (Nicaraguan Newspaper)
I wrote an article advicing Nicaraguan citizens to beware of the pirates coming to town.
The article is located here http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2001/abril/28-abril-2001/nacional/nacional4.html
Weeks and months passed again and since my grandfather had passed I continued handling the case by myself for a while and for a brief period of time.
My father was left as the person in charge of all their affairs. My father and I decided to continue our quest for justice against the banking giant once they stepped into Nicaraguan soil.
Citibank back in Nicaragua
Which is precisely what happen a few years later when Citibank bought Banco Uno. Banco Uno served as the bridge for Citibank to come in to Nicaragua once again and perhaps begin to plan another heist. We said, no way, and realized that it was the perfect opportunity to sue the bank coming back to Nicaraguan soil after almost 30 years.
The bank cannot possibly produce any documents that were not presented during the case in Miami's Federal Court. Moreover suing them in Nicaragua will be twice as interesting as we will be able to know who took the money. Also the Sandinistas will get to confront Citibank about the bank blaming the Sandinistas for taking the money without a single shred of evidence which proves the money ever being turned over to the Sandinistas.
The bank cannot possibly produce any documents that were not presented during the case in Miami's Federal Court. Moreover suing them in Nicaragua will be twice as interesting as we will be able to know who took the money. Also the Sandinistas will get to confront Citibank about the bank blaming the Sandinistas for taking the money without a single shred of evidence which proves the money ever being turned over to the Sandinistas.
Currently Citibank is being Sued
We are now suing Citibank in a Nicaraguan court for the amount of $19.6 million dollars. This is by using a simple interest chart table provided by the Banco de Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan government would like to see the truth come to light when it comes to the banking making false accusations about the whereabouts of the money. Blaming the Sandinistas was the easiest thing to do but he must be brought to justice just like Maddoff.
I have been relentless about bringing this to justice for many reasons but the most important one is the fact that we need to put a halt to corruption and begin looking after the people. We must correct humanity and teach people that we are made for good and not made for bad.
Link Below shows you pictures of evidence used against Citibank in the case Urcuyo vs. Citibank
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10231311@N07/show/with/3202569788/
There are mountain of evidence and correspondence about this case and the truth speaks for itself.
Reasons for a documentary idea are that:
The lawsuit is for a substantial amount of money, totaling almost 20 million dollars
The bank recently came to Nicaragua and opened its doors after almost 30 years
The bank stole the money from the Vice President of Nicaragua
The bank stole the money which came from my grandparents winning the Nicaraguan National Lottery
Everybody has it day in court and this time it is happening to Citibank in Nicaragua and the Sandinistas will question the bank as to why they blame the Sandinistas for taking the our money and never returned it when in fact it was the bank who took the money and took advantage of the vulnerable situation we were in
A jury votes unanimously in a federal court in Miami and the judge reverses the jurys decision
While in exile, my grandfather wrote more than 1000 articles and not one talked about Citibank because he trusted and relied on the truthfulness of the bank and the official from that bank
I could go on and on but I leave you with this picture of this deposit which was used as evidence in the case in Miami. The picture is an original deposit made into my grandparents account a couple of months before they were taken to the cleaners by the bank
Who can trust a bank after such incident……
We, Americans, were forced to be part of this bank and became almost 40% owners of the bank without even asking for it
I have been relentless about bringing the case to a close and it will happen soon in Nicaragua and we are hoping to establish a foundation in the name of my grandparents
"Francisco & Maria Luisa Urcuyo Foundation". It will be dedicated towards helping the poor and hungry and homeless people from his small town in Nicaragua called Rivas.
I can a be great collaborator in the making of any film and the drama is unfolding as we speak so it contains reality and actuality.
This true story will make headlines and it is bound to be view by anybody who has been touched by political reasons and been forced to go into exile. It has tremendous relevance with today's headlines about the banking industry.
Should you need more information, kindly call me at 305 807 3517 or via email at luisurcuyo@hotmail.com
Respectfully yours;
Luis Urcuyo
P.S. I forgot to mention that during a mediation meeting the mediator with an angry voice says, "So Mr. Urcuyo, what do you want from Citibank", he said it in such tone that, I had no time to react to such reaction coming from a supposed mediator, I responded, what else can they give back to us but money. Or maybe fundamental values.
At the end, despite all the evidence against the bank, the mediator said that Citibank was ready to offer us $5000 for our troubles.
