MOM FINDS $70,000 HANCOCK BANK MISSED

JAN 2002 - Martha Ladnier has approximately $70,000 in her savings account at Hancock Bank. She has no other joint account holder’s that will or can withdraw this money.

JAN - AUG 2002 – Margaret Migues, Branch Operations Manager with Hancock Bank, steals Martha Ladnier's life savings and appropriates it to a still unknown destination.

JUN 26, 2006 - Martha Ladnier dies. Surviving family is unaware of the money that should be present or that any wrongdoing had taken place.

JUN 29, 2006 – Margaret Migues, Branch Operation Manager for Hancock Bank, improperly transfers all Martha Ladnier’s remaining accounts into one.

SEPT 19, 2008 – Martha Ladnier’s estate enters probate.

MAY 18, 2009 - Probate is finalized; no funds on deposit were recognized or dispersed.

JUN 2006 – JUL 2009 - Three years pass. Martha Ladnier’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren go about their lives completely unaware of the crime committed upon their deceased grandmother, or the rightful inheritance they were denied.

JUL 17, 2009 – A story breaks in the Sun Herald that Hancock Bank discloses employee malfeasance and fires Margaret Migues and Doris Burney. Hancock Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Carl Chaney states that the embezzlement operation lasted over the course of 29 years, and the amount embezzled was $1 million dollars. Chaney continues to guarantee that all victims of embezzlement will be made whole, plus interest.

JUL 2009 - Stacy Ladnier, granddaughter-in-law to Martha Ladnier, recalls that Mrs. Migues was Martha's banker, and the only person that she did business with at Hancock Bank.

AUG 10, 2009 – Investigation into the embezzlement continues and the Mississippi Press reports to quote Paul Maxwell, Bank Spokesman, stating that the money missing from accounts has been replaced with interest.

NOV 12, 2009 – Hancock Bank enters a petition to re-open the estate of Martha Ladnier and interplead funds.

NOV 24, 2009 - Stacy Ladnier’s children receive a letter from Hancock Bank lawyers stating that as a result of a forensic audit, they have determined that $1,879.55 was embezzled from the account of Martha Ladnier, and that it would be repaid with interest.

NOV – DEC 2009 – Stacy Ladnier questions Hancock Bank lawyers regarding what account the money was taken from. Hancock Bank lawyers state Martha Ladnier only had one account and they will not release the details of the account or how/when the money was taken.

DEC 22, 2009 – A hearing is held to appoint a new CTA; Hancock Bank is ordered to release bank statements for all accounts owned by Martha Ladnier to interested family members.

JAN 2010 - Hancock Bank statements released for 5 of 6 bank accounts held by Martha Ladnier. All statements released show less than $3,000 belonging to Martha Ladnier upon her death.

JAN 22, 2010 - Hancock Bank files a Motion for Direction regarding the release of some bank statements.

MAR 3, 2010 - Hearing for Hancock Bank’s Motion for Direction is held. Stacy Ladnier is unable to question additional funds embezzled during this hearing and is directed to speak to a lawyer. Mrs. Ladnier meets with Hancock Bank lawyers after the hearing and requests a copy of the forensic audit as it pertains specifically to the funds of Martha Ladnier’s and Federal 1099 forms showing interest income reported in 2002 by Hancock Bank that would prove additional funds existed. Hancock Bank ignores the request.
Hancock Bank does not show any signs that it intends to cooperate with requests and insists that no further money is owed to the estate of Martha Ladnier.

MAR 5, 2010 – Margret Migues is officially charged with embezzlement. Hancock Bank CEO Carl Chaney states in the Sun Herald that “we hired one of the most highly regarded forensic accounting firms in the county to help us make sure we made our customers whole. After their investigation, we issued checks for full restitution to every customer involved, including any interest owed to them.” Hancock Bank’s internal investigation still reveals only $1 million taken.

MAR 18, 2010 - Additional news reports in Sun Herald show Margaret Migues enters an agreement to plead guilty to embezzling nearly $3 million in Federal Court.

MAR 25, 2010 – Stacy Ladnier, who cannot afford legal representation, files a motion herself on behalf of her three children, the great-grandchildren of Martha Ladnier, asking the court to compel Hancock Bank to reveal the results of their forensic audits, in addition to bank statements from 2002 for Martha Ladnier’s accounts. She points out the auditor’s $2 million dollar mistake. A hearing is scheduled for May 20th, 2010.

APR 24, 2010 - Hancock Bank subpoenas Martha Ladnier’s public accountant for copies of all her tax returns.

MAY 3, 2010 - Upon examining tax returns from 2002, Hancock Bank realizes Martha Ladnier had earned interest income on her Hancock Bank account that was consistent with a large amount of money and that this money was not present in the bank statements they previously released to family per court order.

MAY 6, 2010 - Stacy Ladnier responds to interrogatories and requests for production of documents. This response contains information indicating she will ask the court to question the discrepancy in interest reported in the tax return verses the documents released by Hancock Bank.

MAY 20th, 2010 - Five minutes before the scheduled hearing is to begin, counsel for Hancock Bank approaches Stacy Ladnier in the lobby of the courtroom and provides her with documents admitting they did uncover additional funds that were misappropriated from Martha Ladnier’s account. Hancock Bank’s response requests permission to interplead an additional $69,669.16 into the estate of Martha Ladnier.

Mrs. Ladnier is relieved with this result after an arduous battle, and Hancock Bank is excused from the hearing.

RESULT: Four years after the death of Martha Ladnier, and nine months after Hancock Bank’s public proclamation that all victims were made whole....Hancock Bank reluctantly acknowledges that an additional $69,669.16, over and above what they initially reported, was embezzled from Martha Ladnier and was owed to the estate.

FACT: Were it not for the dogged determination of Stacy Ladnier to question the credibility of Hancock Bank’s claims, the scope of embezzlement against Martha Ladnier would never have come to light. The initial $1,902.99 ballooned to $71,572.15 after push came to shove.

FACT: The forensic audit performed by Hancock Bank has been proven to have been lacking. A mother was able to find TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars they had missed. The subsequent proclamation by their CEO that all victims had been made whole has been shown to have been false. Stacy Ladnier’s children have yet to receive a dime.

FACT: Hancock Bank did not put the customer first as they fought and denied Stacy Ladnier’s claims until the very last few minutes when they could deny the truth no more.

Question: How many other unsuspecting surviving family members are there out there like those of Martha Ladnier?

Question: And more importantly, will they ever even know?

Question: Are you confident Hancock Bank has found all the money taken?

Question: Are you confident Hancock Bank really repaid all funds?

Question: Do you think Hancock Bank is really an innocent bystander?