MESA, Ariz. -- Wells Fargo agreed to reimburse a Mesa man almost $3,000 Wednesday, thanks to efforts by CBS 5 News staff members.

Aaron Ament said an identity thief took the money from his one of his Wells Fargo bank accounts in September.

Before CBS 5 News got involved, Wells Fargo said Ament was responsible for the charges and refused to credit his account.

Ament noticed the money was missing when he checked his account balance Sept. 8.

"I logged into an account and saw zero balance," he said.

He immediately filed a fraud claim with Wells Fargo and Mesa Police.

“I was told that everything was going to be taken care of. Nothing was going to happen. Everything was going to be fine,” he said.

A month later, Wells Fargo’s fraud department sent him a letter saying its investigators concluded Ament or someone with authorization to use his account number made the charges his account and he would not be reimbursed.

Ament said the investigators discovered the stolen money was used to buy plane tickets to fly from China to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to London, and back to China again on Sept. 13 and 14.

“I was at work the next day. Logistically, I couldn't fly from China to London and back and be at my job Monday morning,” Ament said. “I don't even have a passport.”

He also has a receipt from a Valley golf course, showing he was hitting the links that weekend.

“He (the identity thief) flew on September 13 and I was actually playing golf with a buddy of mine,” Ament said.

That’s when Ament contacted CBS 5 News. We called Wells Fargo. Within a day, Wells Fargo had taken another look at Ament’s case and refunded his money.

“ When that was gone it was a pretty big deal,” Ament said.

His wife gave birth to his first daughter six days ago.

He said his family was counting on that cash to help them pay the bills.

“We're a one income household here,” he said “So it's kind of our lifeblood.”

Wells Fargo officials did not explain to Ament how the investigators reached their initial conclusion, but told Ament they will use his case to train managers to more thoroughly investigate fraud claims.