Agent Lawson then asked if I would be willing to help them keep Diane talking long enough for investigators to gather final evidence.
My parents immediately protested while speaking over each other, yet the agent waited calmly until the room fell quiet.
“If she escapes with that money,” Lawson explained, “every victim tied to her investment fund will lose everything. You are the only person she still trusts completely.”
The thought of my husband Tyler filled my mind because he still believed his mother was simply strict about money, not capable of large scale fraud.
After several long seconds I nodded slowly.
“If helping you will stop this and keep my name clear,” I said, “then I will do it.”
Three minutes later Diane called my phone.
“Grace, where are you,” she demanded sharply. “The manager said you ran out of the bank. Do you realize how that makes me look?”
I forced my voice to sound embarrassed while glancing at the unmarked FBI car parked outside my parents’ house.
“I had a stomach emergency and panicked,” I said quickly. “I am sorry.”
She sighed impatiently before instructing me to meet her at a larger downtown branch where she believed the staff would handle important clients more efficiently.
An hour later I sat in a private conference room wearing a tiny microphone taped beneath my collar while Agent Lawson and another investigator posed as bank employees outside the glass walls.
Diane entered briskly carrying her purse and wearing the same confident smile.
“These banks act as if they have never seen a large check before,” she complained while sitting down. “Now let us finish what we started.”
She slid a folder across the table and pointed to the signature lines.
“Sign here and here,” she said calmly. “As trustee you will hold the account while I transfer the funds to a safer international structure.”
I kept my voice steady while asking the question Lawson had prepared.
“Why does it need to go overseas if the money is ours?”
Diane hesitated before answering with irritation. “Because some investors have become impatient and are asking questions, and once the funds are in Switzerland no one will be able to interfere.”
The moment the words left her mouth the door opened and Agent Lawson stepped inside with two federal officers.
“Diane Whitaker,” Lawson announced clearly, “you are under arrest for wire fraud, securities fraud, and identity theft.”