$150,000 wire disappeared – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(WSVN) – For 10 years, a South Florida man battled to get money owed to him. Finally he did, and his attorney wired the $150,000 to a hacker. Now what? It’s why he called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Hurdles happen in all our lives, but few have faced a headache like Allan.
Allan Nowak: “Well, I’m an unlucky guy.”
Ten years ago, Allan hired a company to move him half a mile away. They were scammers.
Allan Nowak: “$400,000 plus was either stolen or damaged.”
They stole his artwork and other valuables. Allan sued them and a judge ruled the movers owed Allan $408,000.
More bad news for Allan: the movers disappeared and he had to change directions.
Allan Nowak: “Then you move on to collecting your judgment because it’s an insurance company we’re dealing with.”
It took eight years and instead of the $408,000 judgment, the insurance company finally agreed to pay Allan $150,000.
The money was sent to his lawyer.
Allan Nowak: “Papers were signed, the money came into his trust account.”
Sounds like good news but Allan has a dark cloud over his head in this case, which continued when he asked his attorney to put the money into his girlfriend Lauren’s account.
Allan Nowak: “He wired the money but it never came in.”
The attorney had sent the money where, an email said, to a bank in Colorado.
Allan said he had emailed to wire it to a bank in Miami.
Allan Nowak: “And then he said, ‘I think you were hacked, or Lauren was hacked.’”
Allan didn’t believe he was to blame, and pointed the finger at his attorney.
Allan Nowak: “You had control of all the money, all the time. We had no control of the money.”
Allan notified police and the FBI. He was told it’s a civil matter.
The attorney said his insurance company is investigating.
But 10 years after Allan got ripped off by movers, he’s still fighting.
Allan Nowak: “It’s very frustrating, my whole life is dependent on that money.”
Well Howard, what does Allan do now?
Howard: “It depends, and while it seems simple, it’s complicated. If the lawyer got hacked or should have known that Allan or his girlfriend got hacked, his insurance company is responsible to reimburse Allan for the stolen $150,000. But if Allan or his girlfriend got hacked and the lawyer had no reason to know, the insurance company might not have to reimburse Allan. Like I said, it’s complicated.”
When I read emails between Allan and his attorney, at one point the hacker changed the address for Allan’s girlfriend Lauren from “cb1” to “clb01.”
The crook used that email address to get the money wired to the wrong account.
I spoke to Allan’s attorney, a well respected South Florida lawyer. His words: “I want this resolved as much as Allan does.”
He said because of attorney-client privilege, he couldn’t discuss his conversations with Allan but said his insurance company is investigating, and Allan says the attorney told him to expect good news regarding his $150,000.
Allan Nowak: “He says it could take anywhere from another four to six weeks.”
Patrick Fraser: “So in four to six weeks, your luck can change?”
Allan Nowak: “Yes, it can.”
If Allan gets the money, he can afford the down payment on a condo, but he won’t hire a mover this time.
Allan Nowak: “No, I’m going to do it myself one piece at a time.”
Battling for 10 years, wow. Hopefully your luck will change, Allan, and you get that money. We’ll let you know how it works out.
And with hackers hitting so many people, if you are wiring money, wire a portion and call the person to confirm, then wire the rest or write a check.
Moving in the wrong direction? Don’t get wired. Transfer the problem to us and let us hack away at them.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
