u/strwbryhead

From original post https://www.reddit.com/r/Fidelity/s/Ernk8UK0MF

To All The Haters – The Receipts Are In. IRS Confirms Identity Theft & Wipes $39k Fraudulent Fidelity Withdrawal. But still... crickets from Fidelity who declines to investigate the issue citkng the check is "too old to investigate".. even after the findings from the IRS's own investugatuon

To everyone who doubted my story in my last post, the official government paperwork has finally arrived to back up exactly what I said happened.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Identity Theft Victim Assistance unit has officially issued a final determination in my favor. After years of battling the system, I finally have the definitive proof of the criminal account takeover and the institutional failures at Fidelity.

Here are the hard facts and the official updates from my records:

The Official IRS Clearance: In Letter 4674C, dated May 22, 2026, the IRS officially accepted my identity theft claim for the 2020 tax year.

The Fraud Erased: This letter completely removed the $39,000.00 fraudulent component stemming from the Fidelity 401(k) loan default offset from my official record.

Penalties Nullified: The IRS action successfully wiped out the artificial $32,046.00 tax debt and the $5,273.00 accuracy penalty they had originally assessed against me.

State Collections Frozen: I successfully used this exact IRS Letter 4674C to legally freeze the Massachusetts Department of Revenue from coming after my federal refund over an erroneous $3,289.47 state debt caused by the same phantom income.

This federal validation is now being used as direct evidence in my ongoing FINRA complaint regarding u/Fidelity's failure to protect my assets during the 2020 account takeover.

While the IRS automated system did mistakenly freeze some of my legitimate tax withholding during this cleanup process and is being corrected at the moment, the core fight is over. The $39k fraud is gone, the $32k debt is gone, and the receipts are locked in.

Thanks to everyone who offered actual advice along the way. To the haters: the IRS Letter 4674C speaks for itself.

I discovered that I reported about $40,000 less income—approximately 15% of my total income for that year—on a tax return from two years ago after receiving a notice from the IRS. This discrepancy occurred because someone fraudulently took out a 401(k) loan in my name without my knowledge. They mailed a paper check, which was cashed by an unknown person. The loan defaulted after I switched jobs, causing the automatic payroll deductions to stop. Unfortunately, I didn’t closely check my pay stubs during my final months at the company and missed those deductions of $100 to $200 for loan repayments.

Fast forward ten months since I uncovered this situation, and I have been trying to work with Fidelity to resolve it. Almost a year has passed, and they JUST NOW saying they won’t investigate further because the check is too old. The entire process has been filled with nonstop delays. I’ve repeatedly asked for copies of the endorsed check and even had to fill out a notarized affidavit stating that the signature was not mine and that I did not receive the money. Despite contacting them more than a dozen times, I still have no clear answers on how this will be resolved. Eventually, I received news that their investigation team deemed the check too old to take any action. Now, there is $50,000 missing, and I haven't heard anything from their investigation team.

I reviewed Fidelity's customer protection guarantee, and it seems like it should cover situations like this involving my 401(k) and retirement account. It feels like there has been a serious breach of contract here, and I honestly don’t know what to do next.

***SEPTEMBER 1 2025 UPDATE - NO RESPONSE FROM FIDELITY, THEY CONTINUE TO REFUSE TO INVESTIGATE NOR DISCLOSE WHAT BANK DEPOSITED THE FUNDS