Chapter 12 - Why Harold needed family names
Harold was not broke.
His house was paid off.
Retirement income.
Investments.
Approximately $1.2 million net worth.
So why manipulate accounts?
Control.
And pride.
Brian’s construction company struggled after the pandemic.
Scott had tax debt.
Christine had student loans years earlier.
Harold repeatedly “helped.”
Sometimes correctly.
Sometimes by moving money.
Refinancing.
Guaranteeing.
Opening credit.
Using one family member’s stronger profile to support another’s obligations.
He told himself:
Everything stays in the family.
The amount tied to unauthorized or disputed activity was not millions.
Roughly $137,000 over eleven years.
Some repaid.
Some refinanced.
Some still outstanding.
The more important problem was documentation.
Consent.
Signatures.
Whose identity had been used.
Harold’s position in banking had trained him to believe paperwork could convert his decisions into everyone’s decisions.
He did not see himself as a thief.
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He saw himself as family CFO.
That self-image became dangerous.
