WENDY Williams and her ex-attorney shared a heated argument inside a Florida Wells Fargo days before her accounts were frozen.
Wendy's former attorney LaShawn Thomas exclusively told The U.S. Sun in a conversation earlier this year about a tense visit to a Wells Fargo branch in Florida with her then-client just days before the host's accounts were frozen.
LaShawn admits she is no longer working with the star, and that she has remained on as an attorney for Wendy's ex-husband Kevin Hunter, 49.
When asked if anything untoward had happened with Wendy's accounts before they were frozen, the attorney laid out the following interaction at one of the bank's brokerage offices in Florida in January.
She denied that there was any issue of "financial exploitation," which had been raised as a concern by the bank in court papers.
LaShawn claimed to The U.S. Sun: "I met Wendy at the Wells Fargo branch. We went into the Wells Fargo branch and we spoke to the branch manager. We told him what was going on."
The attorney said that the 58-year-old host's son Kevin Jr., 22, was also present during the bank visit.
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LaShawn said they had as of yet been unable to get a hold of Wendy's bank statements, which were being mailed directly to her New York residence.
Her son also wanted to set up online banking for his mother while she was staying in Florida.
"Wendy said she wanted to get access to the accounts," LaShawn continued, and said the bank manager had told her: "'Well, we don't do that in the retail branch. That's the Wells Fargo advisors, let me see if I can get somebody on the line.'"
LaShawn continued to claim: "He called Lori (Lori Schiller, Wendy's longtime financial adviser). He went into another room and had a conversation with Lori and came out.
"He said Lori was willing to talk to Wendy, but that she doesn't want anybody else in the room when she talks to Wendy.
"So Wendy said, 'No, why can't she talk to me with my attorney, I can understand if my son has to leave out of the room, but I want to keep my attorney here.'"
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LaShawn added: "And Lori said 'No, I want to talk to Wendy alone,' and if Wendy doesn't want to talk to her alone, Lori wouldn't talk to Wendy."
The trio then left the bank empty-handed.
A source confirmed the interaction and said that it had caused concern, as it was unusual for Wendy to come into a brokerage office, with people in tow and ask for access to her accounts.
The branch was also not where Wendy would typically have conducted business- which is back in New York.
In a lengthy statement, which LaShawn posted to Instagram on Thursday, she alleged that she is being barred from being in contact with Wendy, and blew off any allegations that there was a conflict of interest in her remaining on the case involving Wells Fargo.
The statement began: "To be clear, there was never a conflict of interest, the judge and Wells Fargo did not want me on the case because I couldn't be bought.
"I would never stand by and watch my client be taken advantage of so they did everything to get me out of the picture including threatening to report me to the Florida bar if I communicate with my client.
"Their goal was to get Wendy back to New York to control her when Wendy was doing well in Florida with her son. She was on the mend, seeing her doctors every day, exercising and having coherent conversations. The person you see today is vastly different from the person you saw in videos in Florida.
"She has been isolated and I've done everything in my power to assist her. I have been impeded in my attempts to communicate with Wendy by the court.
"They don't want us to see a healthy Wendy hence the court's threats to sanction me if I spoke to the media or Wendy."
LaShawn then praised the TV host's ex-husband Kevin and his successes at Wendy's daytime talk show.
When asked for comment about the attorney's allegations, a Wells Fargo rep directed The U.S. Sun to their previous statements: "We deny any allegations of improper actions with respect to Ms. Williams’ accounts... The financial well-being of our clients is at the heart of everything we do."
Another statement issued at the time by the bank added: "Wells Fargo’s priority is the financial well-being of Ms. Williams and the preservation of her privacy."
Wendy's manager, Will Selby told The U.S. Sun "I don't know LaShawn personally, I've never met with LaShawn and I've only been dealing with certain individuals pertaining to the court and Wendy's Wells Fargo account."
WENDY'S MONEY
The 58-year-old former host's accounts went under the control of a financial guardian after her bank alleged that she was the victim of financial exploitation, dementia, or undue influence in explosive court filings.
The ex-TV star, who was expected to regain access to her accounts in July, still does not have access to them or her American Express card, which also seems to have gotten tied up in the proceedings.
Will previously told The U.S. Sun that he has been trying to help Wendy work through the Wells Fargo situation.
He said he was trying to get the people involved in her accounts to understand "that what took place before, is not the case now, and that people that were working with Wendy before are no longer working with her."
WENDY'S FINANCIAL GUARDIANSHIP
As The U.S. Sun previously exclusively reported, Wendy's contentious battle with Wells Fargo to unfreeze her bank accounts ended after a New York judge appointed a financial guardian to oversee her finances in May.
As a source explained: "The guardianship process is complete, which means the court-appointed a financial guardian. Now it's up to the guardian, Wendy, and the court as to how she will be accessing her money."
The bank now acts at the direction of Wendy and her guardian, one insider claimed.
Several sources have also revealed that there was a temporary guardian in place since at least March, though it is unclear if the official court-appointed financial guardian, is the same person.
As one insider revealed: "The court can eventually decide to give Wendy back full control over her accounts and end the guardianship- but that is up to the court."
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In the meantime, Wendy is said to "still have a voice and she still has a say" when it comes to her finances, and while "she doesn't have 100% control right now, that could all change soon depending on what the court decides."
It is unclear who was named as Wendy's financial guardian.
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