Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
its a ridiculous question because its not even a situation where you could hope to not get caught.
People can be stupid sometimes. Something similar happened at a Casino I used to work at. The person that refilled the ATM machine mistakely put $20 bills in the $100 dispenser and $100 bills in the $20 dispenser. So if you withdraw $80 from the ATM, it magically gave you $400, free money right. Once word got out Casino employees were lining up at the ATM to withdraw as many $20 bills from there Bank account as they could. Once the bank realized the mistake, it didn't take them long to debt the accounts of those involved and threaten legal action against those who were overdrawn.
I did have am ATM give me an extra $20 once. I was able to pocket that extra $20 without any repercussions, but I'm sure the FBI is still looking for me.
As for what I would do if 31k were deposited in my account, I wouldn't do anything, I'm sure the Bank would correct the error in there own good time. Now if it were 31 million, that be a different story. I hear Venezuela is nice this time of year and every year after with 31 million to live off of. On second thought maybe Croatia would be a better choice, Venezuela economy is pretty screw up right now.
Last edited by TechGromit; 05-15-2014 at 10:00 PM..
Fields also faces an assessment for income taxes based on the funds withdrawn from his account. The taxman does not make any distinction for income obtained legally or illegally; and now that the story is out, he can add taxes to his other liabilities.
I would do the same thing with the $31,000 that I did when $10,000 was accidentally deposited into my account: I would wait and watch and NOTtouch it.
When $10,000 was deposited into my account by bank error, I thought it would be a no-brainer for the bank...or the account owner to catch it rather quickly. Instead, the amount remained in my account for over 2 months until I got a call from the account owner...who was my mother-in-law!
After we spoke, I offered to write a check to her...go ahead and insert check-in-the-mail and/or mother-in-law jokes here...but she said she wanted to take up the matter with the bank itself. Although they apologized for their screw-up, she was not compensated for the interest she lost. I think she was just happy that she got it all back.
If this had not been a relative, I would have let it ride for 3 months instead of the 2 and at that time, I would have contacted the bank to remove the funds that were put into my account through THEIR error. Thankfully, this has not happened before or since, but just goes to show how human error has the potential to result in some really bad consequences.
I would do the same thing with the $31,000 that I did when $10,000 was accidentally deposited into my account: I would wait and watch and NOT touch it.
Yep, there's no legal issue if you don't touch it. It can sit there for months on end and, as long as you never touch it, there's no crime committed. The illegal part is when the person gets greedy and thinks s/he can withdraw and spend that money. Ummm no. Eventually, usually, an audit will reveal the error and the money better be there when the bank or financial institution goes to take it back.
Many years ago, I had a customer come in with a check from the bank across the street to open a CD. That CD was open for 9 months.
She had 10K deposited to her account in error there and after 5 months of trying to get that bank to listen to her that it was an error (in writing) she finally decided well -- if they insist it's mine (in writing with the haughty words of We Don't Make Mistakes ALL over the letters) I'll take it.
She knew she was going to have to give it back eventually... but she wanted better interest, and the money out of their reach.
SO -- after a year of all this, the other bank finally figured it out, and started screaming about it and threatening her. This is also when WE found out what was going on.
She got a notice from someone at a main office and she provided them with copies of ALL the letters back and forth and said she would GLADLY give them back the 10K, but only if she got a written apology from that branch manager for the shabby treatment she had been given.
HE REFUSED. He couldn't admit he was wrong. Finally -- she came back in to close the account (we waived the penalties) and she showed us the letter. The manager lost his job over this (probably not the only reason!) and the letter was written by the new manager.
It does happen, but the right thing to do is NOT SPEND IT.
10 years ago I left a job. Out of nowhere, 2 months later, I started receiving direct deposit pay from my former employer. The local office stopped the payments when I informed them, but the national office ignored me when I tried to pay the money back.
Eventually, just as in your story, they figured it out and sent me threatening letters. The whole thing was incredibly annoying. The money put me in a higher tax bracket and it didn't get straightened out until the next year, when I was in a lower tax bracket, so the error actually cost me money.
(I know I'm reviving an old thread, just wanted to vent. )
Cash out the money immediately and close out the account. Then act like nothing happen. One pays for mistake. And that should be the person who caused it.
I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. and notify the authorities immediately.
Chances are it's ill gotten gains ,and who ever put it there is going to be coming after it.
If they have the means to make that kind of move, they have the means to make life miserable for you.
One way or another the bank would be reporting it , and it wouldn't be a secret long.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
