Every two weeks like clockwork, Jeffrey Perry has deposited his paycheck at the Wells Fargo bank branch in Mechanicsville located a few blocks from his workplace.

So the 55-year-old Church Hill resident was unprepared for what happened when he stopped at the branch on April 21 and gave his latest paycheck to the teller whom he said routinely waited on him.

He’s still quivering with rage over what came next — a cautionary tale about how banking relationships can turn sour.

Instead of depositing the check and giving him a receipt, the teller huddled with several other staff members and the bank manager, Alvin Bulanadi, who took the check into his office.

Mr. Perry said he ended up cooling his heels in the lobby for 40 minutes until Mr. Bulanadi approached and loudly told him, “You are trying to commit a fraud on this bank.” Mr. Perry said everyone within earshot heard the statement.

Mr. Perry said he felt like he had crossed into the Twilight Zone where he, an African-American, was being punished for trying to put money into a bank branch whose customers are predominately white.

“I was in shock. I felt humiliated, defamed,” said Mr. Perry, who said he had no idea what was going on or why the paycheck from his employer, mental health service provider Intensive Community Outreach Service, was different from the previous 26 company checks he had successfully deposited at the branch during the last year.

“Everyone was looking at me,” he said. “I wanted to shrink into the floor. It was just painful to go through this.”

He said after Mr. Bulanadi refused to return his check, he left. He said no one showed up to arrest him despite Mr. Bulanadi’s accusation that he was trying to commit a crime.

Mr. Bulanadi did not respond to a Free Press request for comment about the incident. However, bank spokesperson Kristy Marshall confirmed the incident and defended the manager and staff’s treatment of Mr. Perry.

“Wells Fargo followed appropriate steps to ensure that the check presented was a valid check,” Ms. Marshall stated.

“In this particular case, there were red flags on the check that caused our teller and branch manager to verify the check through our proper systems. The decision to not accept the check was not made by the team members inside of the branch, but by our offsite loss management department,” she stated.

Mr. Perry, who has retained an attorney to seek redress, said he is not happy.

“Her response does not address the public humiliation, slander and discrimination that I suffered,” he said. “What else could I have expected?”

He said that he still doesn’t understand why he was accused of a crime. At the time, his checking and savings account had a combined $2,900, more than enough to cover the $1,600 check.

“Plus, I wasn’t trying to cash the check,” he said. “I was just trying to put the check into my account. How is that an attempt to defraud the bank?”

The check was legitimate, according to Yuri Norrell, a regional manager for ICOS, a fast-growing small business where Mr. Perry has worked for the last year. Mr. Norrell said the company has grown in two years to include four offices and 60 employees.

Mr. Perry helps ICOS recruit clients and assists them with other needs, such as securing housing, food, clothing and medical help.

“Whatever (clients) need, I’m here to help them,” said Mr. Perry, who has connections with about 100 clients, including more than 40 he said he personally has signed up.

Mr. Norrell said the company recently switched its payroll service company from Paychex to Bank of America, which is competing for the business.

He said that there was glitch in the electronic information that Bank of America’s equipment put on the bottom of the check that created problems for computers at other banks.

“Other banks that had problems called me to verify that the check was valid and the amount was correct,” Mr. Norrell said. “Wells Fargo never called. When Jeffrey came back and told me what happened, I called the branch. Mr. Bulanadi treated me so rudely I had to hang up on him.”

Mr. Norrell said that he simply cut Mr. Perry another check.

Mr. Perry said he returned to the Mechanicsville bank branch, closed his account and then opened a new account at a Bank of America branch in Richmond.

Mr. Perry said that he later got a call from a man who identified himself as Justin Sellers from Wells Fargo, who offered an apology.

“I’ve heard nothing more,” Mr. Perry said.

Still, Mr. Perry said he faced additional problems after he severed ties with Wells Fargo and closed the account. The bank received automated payment requests from the company where he purchased his car and from his auto insurance company.

“Mr. Sellers told me that Wells Fargo employees are supposed to check with customers so that enough money is left in an account to make sure any automated payments are covered,” he said. “Mr. Bulanadi’s staff never did that. They just closed the account.”

Mr. Perry is eager to hold Wells Fargo accountable.

“They treated me like dirt, and all because I wanted to make a deposit,” he said. “It was just crazy.”