money.
Your mother had to be a joint
owner on the CD 'cause you were
a minor.
Where did you get that money
from?
>> Well, I had started working
at, I believe, 16, my first job.
And I had been saving up money
in my bedroom.
And I had 12 $100 bills at one
point, and they decided that I
should put the money -- My
father, I believe, decided it's
probably safer to put the money
in the bank.
>> Judge Judy: Are your parents
still together?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: So, you went to
the bank.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Who did you go
with?
>> Just me and my mom.
>> Judge Judy: And signed the
papers and let the money sit
there.
When did you try to close out
the CD?
>> Last year.
>> Judge Judy: Was it a 10-year
CD or was it --
>> It was an 18-month flex in
the paperwork, but it was
supposed to be on automatic
renewal.
And last year, I went to take
the money out whenever me and my
husband got married last year
and went to buy a home last
September.
And I've been looking for it
since last September.
>> Judge Judy: Did you ask your
mother about where the money
was?
>> Yeah. When I started looking
for it and the bank said that
they didn't have any
information, I thought it was
strange.
I thought that the bank was
trying to cheat me or something.
And that's when I started asking
for some help.
>> Judge Judy: Who did you ask
for help?
>> I asked several different
places.
I started, first, at the
Texas Bank, and then I found out
they actually sold the account
in '06-'07.
>> Judge Judy: Sold the account.
>> Or merged it, yes.
>> Judge Judy: Oh, they merged
banks.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Not the account.
They merged your bank.
>> They said that they
transferred some of their
accounts to BBVA Compass, and
then I pursued them ever since.
But I also got several other
places involved -- the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, the
Better Business Bureau, the
FDIC, the news, the Channel 5
news.
And then I was finally told,
after a while, that I wasn't
even the legal owner and that
they couldn't give me any more
information.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Did you ultimately get
information as to what happened
with that account?
>> I did -- about four months
ago.
>> Judge Judy: May I see it,
please?
>> That's their statement.
>> Judge Judy: Ms. Freeman, you
closed this account shortly
after it was opened?
>> Your honor, I don't remember
closing the account.
But if I did, I did it because
she requested me to.
>> Judge Judy: No, no, no.
This is either you don't
remember -- That's not what you
said in your answer, that you
don't remember.
The account was closed before
its maturity.
And is what you're telling me
that you have no information
about the account being closed?
>> No, your honor, I don't.
>> Judge Judy: So to the best of
your recollection, you never
took money out of this account?
>> Your honor, I really don't
remember if I closed the account
or not.
I mean, if I did, it was because
she asked me to.
>> Judge Judy: No, no, no.
That's not what I'm asking you.
It's not "if I did."
This doesn't indicate who closed
the account.
>> Well, when she originally
asked me about it, I thought,
"Maybe the bank did do something
with her CD," because I didn't
remember closing the CD or
taking the money out, and she
doesn't remember it.
>> Judge Judy: Do you have any
proof that your mother closed
this account?
>> I have e-mails from the news
to the bank, because I had a lot
of trouble communicating with
the bank.
And the news helped me out.
I have information saying that
I'm not the legal owner, and it
was closed by the legal owner.
And there's only two people on
the account.
>> Judge Judy: Yeah, I'd like to
see what she has.
>> The top are e-mails that the
news sent me that were between
my mom and the news.
And then behind it is the ones
from BBVA.
>> Judge Judy: Just a second.
Okay. So, this is clear that
your mother is saying exactly
what she said to me she said
here.
She doesn't remember closing
this account, and you don't
remember closing the account.
Now I'm going to read the rest.
Well, this is just Ms. Lane from
the news speculating when she
says, "This may be a family
matter."
It could also be a bank-fraud
matter.
Possible, right?
>> Yeah, I believed that up
until they sent me that purged
document a few months back.
>> Judge Judy: Well, you mean
this one that you gave me
already?
>> Uh-huh.
The second page is the one that
they said is the last, final
record that they have of it, and
it's because it was closed.
And it's been seven years since
closure.
>> Judge Judy: I understand
that.
She says she doesn't remember
ever taking money out of this
bank for you.
I just have a couple of