Advice needed on how to deal with a fraud

[Preston H]

This is a very unique situation.

There is no prior example in the Forum that I can think of, to link to or hold up as precedent.

[Christine A]

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Preston H wrote:

This is a very unique situation.

There is no prior example in the Forum that I can think of, to link to or hold up as precedent.

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Yes, I don't recall seeing this particular problem before, but there must have been other situations in which freelancers were banned while they still had money in their accounts? 

[Preston H]

re: "...but there must have been other situations in which freelancers were banned while they still had money in their accounts?"

Yes, certainly.

I can recall posts from freelancers who were removed from the platform, while there was still money in their accounts. Freelancers have lost access to their funds.

But this thread presents a situation from the client's perspective.

The original poster is not trying to defend anything that the freelancer did which resulted in the freelancer being removed from the platform.

The original poster's only question appears to be along these lines:

"My freelancer was fraudulent as far as Upwork is concerned. But she did good work for us. Now we are using her work - work we tried to pay for, but Upwork returned the money to us."

[Valeria K · Accepted solution]

Hi Alina,

Unfortunately, I won't be able to share information about why the freelancer's account was suspended. That said, Upwork team doesn't suspend accounts unless they violate our ToS and you can find more information about that in this help article.

I also see that you have an open support ticket and it's already been escalated to the team that assists clients in situations similar to yours. I'll also follow up with that team and share the concerns you posted on this thread with them so they are aware.

[Alina T]

Hi Valeria,

Thanks for your reply and thanks for clarifications.

Yes, I have submitted a support ticket. Thanks for sharing the additional details. Looking forward to solving this issue with a support team. 

Cheers, Alina

[Amy M]

I just want to say that yeah it sounds like a complicated situation and it is good of you as the client or agent to ask. I mean if she did the work, she deserves the money, right?  Who knows what kind of situation or life she is living and if she is in touch despite being banned, she must need the money somehow or it is important to her. The website is functioning so she can't be an entirely fraudulent person.  It is interesting to know what happens to the money in such cases.  I mean worst case for both you and her is probably that you can't use her materials ethically because she hasn't been paid, and she can't get paid for it. But that seems like a waste. She could be from Ukraine and temporarily somewhere else, or she may have accounts in other countries where she can move and receive money without being a fraud necessarily. The world is becoming a very transnational place.