Miller Thibodeaux Dysart Veith & Paschal, LLC, together with co-counsel Landis Sexton, LLC, filed a federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Alabama against PNC Bank, N.A., on behalf of Alabama attorney Edward Kendall, who alleges PNC Bank and its predecessor BBVA USA (the “Banks”) allowed his former law partner, Michael Strickland, to siphon millions of dollars from him over nearly two decades.
Kendall alleges his law partner, Michael Strickland, used a network of hidden “shadow” bank accounts to divert millions in fees that belonged to Kendall, funneling the money into Strickland’s pocket and to his family members, all without Kendall’s knowledge or consent. To perpetuate this fraudulent scheme, Strickland forged Kendall’s signature on bank documents, opened accounts in Kendall’s name and in the names of law firms that never legally existed, and even opened a credit card in Kendall’s name without his knowledge.
Kendall alleges the Banks could have stopped the scheme. The complaint alleges the Banks failed to adhere to “Know Your Customer” and “Customer Identification” procedures, failed to monitor accounts for suspicious activity, and failed to enact other safeguards to prevent Strickland’s fraud. Instead, the Banks accepted a faxed forgery of Kendall’s signature rather, allowed accounts to be opened for entities that did not exist, and permitted settlement checks made out to the firm and its clients to be deposited into Strickland’s secret accounts.
The suit brings claims for negligence and wantonness and seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
The matter is captioned Kendall v. PNC Bank, N.A., Civil Action No. 2:26-cv-00655, pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Plaintiff, Edward Kendall, is represented by Kerry J. Miller, Rebekka C. Veith, and C. Hogan Paschal of Miller Thibodeaux Dysart Veith & Paschal, LLC, together with L. Landis Sexton of Landis Sexton, LLC.
Coverage of this filing appeared in Law360 on August 18, 2026.