Neil Binder can start cutting checks again. The president of Bellmarc Realty informed his brokers and employees in a company-wide email on Tuesday morning that TD Bank has removed a freeze on Bellmarc’s bank accounts.
The problem, according to Binder, stemmed from a $33,000 withdrawal made from E*Trade. Binder tried to deposit that money into his TD account, but the money was left “pending.” After talking to a bank representative, Binder was told that the matter had been transferred to TD Bank’s fraud department.
The bank froze all of Bellmarc Realty’s accounts, which left the brokerage unable to pay commissions, salary, rent and other expenses, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday.
“They apologized for their error,” Binder wrote Tuesday in the email to Bellmarc staff, which was obtained by The Real Deal.
Steven Beispel, Binder’s attorney, confirmed that TD Bank’s lawyer called around 6 p.m. on Monday, to say that the freeze had been lifted. Both parties were due in court on Monday afternoon, but representatives from TD Bank did not attend. Beispel said that the bank hadn’t specified why they froze the accounts, but that everything is “fully operational.”
TD Bank’s lawyer wasn’t immediately available for comment.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no motion to dismiss the suit had been filed with the New York Supreme Court.
In the email to his employees, Binder wrote that “the bank has accepted its error and has now released all accounts of the company. All checks issued will be accepted and will clear.”