John McDevitt, Afghanistan War Veteran, Says He'll Struggle To Pay For Daughter's Wedding Thanks To Bank Of America

One Afghanistan War veteran is claiming that he might have trouble paying for his daughter's wedding thanks to Bank of America -- and he's not taking it sitting down.

John McDevitt, an Army reservist who served for one year in Afghanistan is staging a protest outside of a local BofA branch in Utica, New York after he claims the bank refused to reimburse him for supposedly fraudulent charges he incurred while on two weeks leave in Athens, Greece, WKTV, a local NBC affiliate reports.

McDevitt says he was charged more than $25,000 by an Athens nightclub even though he claims he only bought a few drinks there, but BofA's investigation has conluded that he'll have to take the charges up with the Greek merchant if he hopes to recoup the lost funds, according to WKTV. The loss is that much more painful since McDevitt says he planned to use that money for his daughter's wedding.

McDevitt is just one of many veterans operating on a tight budget. More than one-third of military families struggle to pay monthly bills, while 27 percent face credit card debts over $10,000, according to a 2010 military survey. In addition, the unemployment rate for veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq averaged 12.1 percent in 2011 compared to 8.7 percent for the overall population.

McDevitt's story isn't just one of the financial woes facing military families, it also adds to a barrage of recent reports from consumers claiming they've been wronged by BofA. In at least one case, BofA allegedly hounded a consumer to pay off a debt she'd already settled, American Banker reports.

And in another example, a man who had already filed for bankruptcy protection was called by the bank 38 times, ultimately resulting in him being awarded $12,500 in emotional distress damages.

But how much longer the nation's second largest bank will wield so much power remains to be seen. A recent report from bank analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods contends that big banks once deemed too big to fail may soon be broken up by regulators. Currently, BofA has over $2 trillion in assets.