The man alleged to have robbed Bank of America in downtown Monterey on Thursday and leading police on a chase of suspected packages had filed a lawsuit against the bank for "outrageous behavior" in June.
Former teacher Sergio S. Valderrama, 78, of Greenfield sued the bank seeking $5 million in punitive damages over "emotional damages" from alleged mortgage discrimination, according to documents filed in Monterey County Superior Court.
He claimed his wife had "suffered a terrible nervous breakdown" because they could not pay their 7 percent interest mortgage and needed refinancing assistance from the bank.
Efforts to reach a Bank of America representative Friday were unsuccessful, but its lawyers had denied all of Valderrama's claims in court papers filed July 19.
Valderrama, who did not have a lawyer, wrote that the bank had denied his effort to use the federal Home Affordable Refinance Program to save as much as $500 a month on his mortgage.
He said he and his wife had been discriminated against because they had sought public assistance in the past.
"They refused to return the many messages I left in the Bank of America N.A. voice mail system or answer my email," he wrote. "Obviously they discovered the problem but refused to fix it and they rather hide and expect me to disappear."
The lawsuit was been accepted by the court but Judge Kay Kingsley ordered that it be amended by Monday.
Valderrama is alleged to have walked into the Bank of America on East Franklin Street on Thursday afternoon with two loaded handguns. After he was quickly caught, he told police he had left explosive devices in the area.
Several buildings were evacuated and roads were closed as a bomb squad blew up two bags containing the suspicious packages.
The roughly four-hour affair snarled traffic and prematurely ended hundreds of work days.
It turned out that Valderrama had just used road flares rigged to look like dynamite, said Monterey police
spokeswoman Lt. Leslie Sonne.
"The devices may have been fake but the guns were not," Sonne said.
Police recovered all but one dollar stolen out of "more than $20,000," she said.
Sonne said she had no information on Valderrama's motive.
In his lawsuit, the Greenfield man claimed his family's income was steadily decreasing because he and his wife could no longer work full time.
The court had granted him a court fee waiver June 18. His exact income was not listed but it had to be less than $1,196 a month to be granted.
His loan application, which was included in court documents, said his loan was issued at $285,000 in 2001 for 1267 Romo Drive. He had an existing lien of $136,113.
Bank documents said a refinancing was denied based on information "obtained from an affiliate or from an outside source other than a consumer reporting agency."
Valderrama was a former credentialed information technology teacher for grades 12 and below, according to the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing. His credential expired in August.
According to an online profile for a business he founded, MacWin Computers in Greenfield, Valderrama taught Spanish for the Monterey Office of Education and a GED class for King City High School's adult education program.
According to his Facebook page, he is originally from Santiago, Chile and studied at Universidad Tecnica del Estado.
Phillip Molnar can be reached at 646-4487 or pmolnar@montereyherald.com.
