Bank of America Is Now Stealing From Child Actors, Allegedly
According to a recent class action lawsuit, Bank of America has been illegally withdrawing money from bank accounts set up for child actors. Apparenty, there's a statute called Coogan's Law, named after a former child actor who would later play Uncle Fester on the original "Adams Family," which requires employers to set aside 15 percent of a child actors' gross pay in a trust that's only accessible once the kid turns 18.
Well, it seems as though Bank of America has been taking monthly service fees from these accounts, which, according to the attorney representing the plaintiffs, is illegal.
"The law prevents any withdrawals from a Coogan Account until the child becomes 18 or emancipated," David Markun, a lawyer with Markun Zusman & Compton, who is representing the plaintiffs, told ABC News. "But Bank of America took out monthly service charges. We believe service charges are a withdrawal."
…"In some instances, the funds were completely depleted," said Markun. "So, somebody might have had money in an account and over the years Bank of America took out the money and by the time the person become 18 they actually owed the bank money."
So bravo to Bank of America for (allegedly) finally working your way down the list of the desperate and poor until you got to the very bottom.
