A federal lawsuit alleges First Horizon Bank failed to stop unauthorized transfers after an impostor gained access to business accounts.
ORLANDO, FL — A Central Florida businessman is suing First Horizon Bank after about $6.5 million was transferred from accounts connected to his businesses without authorization over several days in March, according to court records and interviews with the businessman and his attorney.
Misael Rosario, founder of Century Metals and Supplies, said more than $4 million remains missing despite efforts by law enforcement and financial institutions to recover the money. His companies, K&A Rosario Holdings LLC and MJR Fund I Inc., have taken their dispute with First Horizon to federal court, alleging the bank did not use commercially reasonable security procedures to protect the accounts. First Horizon has moved to dismiss part of the companies’ claims and has said it intends to vigorously defend the case.
Rosario told WFTV and WDBO that he founded his metal distribution business nearly four decades ago with $10,000. The company now employs more than 80 people in Central and South Florida. Rosario said he had banked with First Horizon for years before the disputed transfers and had not experienced similar problems.
The lawsuit centers on events beginning March 3. According to Rosario’s attorney, Victor Velarde of Fowler White Burnett, an impostor contacted First Horizon while posing as Rosario and claimed to have changed phones. The caller allegedly persuaded bank personnel to issue a replacement security token used to access the companies’ online banking system. Money was then transferred from the accounts to outside recipients. Rosario said neither he nor his wife authorized the transactions.
Rosario said his wife received an early-morning email alert after money had already begun leaving the accounts. He said the volume of transfers was far outside the businesses’ normal banking activity. The companies contend in their lawsuit that the circumstances should have triggered additional scrutiny before the transactions were completed.
Velarde said some of the transferred money eventually reached an account associated with a Chinese company. He also said information connected to the account access pointed to an internet address in New York. Those claims are allegations in ongoing litigation and have not been established by a court. The FBI has declined to discuss Rosario’s case because the investigation remains active, according to WDBO.
The dispute has drawn added attention because another First Horizon customer reported a similar incident earlier in 2026. Palm Beach law firm Rabideau Klein filed a separate lawsuit after more than $17 million was transferred from an escrow account in January. The law firm said it recovered about $10.7 million, leaving roughly $6.5 million outstanding.
In the Palm Beach case, the law firm also alleged that an unauthorized person obtained access to its banking system and secured a replacement security token before money was transferred. Rosario’s attorney argues that the earlier incident should have alerted First Horizon to a possible pattern before Rosario’s accounts were hit in March. First Horizon has disputed liability in the litigation. The allegations in both cases remain contested.
First Horizon told WFTV and WDBO that it had filed a motion seeking partial dismissal in Rosario’s case and would vigorously defend itself. The bank is asking the court to narrow the lawsuit, including dismissing a breach-of-contract claim. The dispute is expected to turn in part on Florida law governing electronic fund transfers and whether the security procedures used by the bank were commercially reasonable under the circumstances.
Rosario’s companies originally brought their case against First Horizon before it was moved to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in June. Federal court records identify K&A Rosario Holdings and MJR Fund I as the plaintiffs and First Horizon Bank as the defendant. No court ruling cited in the available records has determined that First Horizon is responsible for the missing funds.
Rosario said the financial loss has affected money he had planned to preserve for retirement and his family. He has said he wants the unrecovered funds returned and maintains that he followed the bank’s requirements before the unauthorized activity occurred. First Horizon, meanwhile, continues to contest the claims as the civil case moves through federal court.
The FBI investigation remains ongoing, and more than $4 million from Rosario’s accounts had not been recovered as of the latest public reporting. The federal lawsuit also remains unresolved, leaving questions about responsibility for the transfers and whether the bank must reimburse the companies to be decided through the court process.
Author note: Last updated October 21, 2026.