According to police, they bought an SUV, a race car, two four-wheelers, a camper, and a car trailer, and gave $15k to their friends.
In Monopoly, a bank error in your favor means $200 you don’t have to give back.
But it doesn’t quite work like that in real life, a Pennsylvania couple have discovered, after they were charged with felony theft for spending $120k that was accidentally deposited in their account.
Robert and Tiffany Williams, of Montoursville, discovered the six-figure sum on May 31st, after a mistake by a BB&T bank teller, WNEP reported.
But instead of contacting the bank to let them know, the couple allegedly spent the lot… in two-and-a-half weeks.
According to police, they bought an SUV, a race car, two four-wheelers, a camper, and a car trailer; they then funneled the rest into outstanding bills and car repairs, and even gave away $15,000 to friends in need of cash.
The bank eventually realized its mistake and transferred the money to the correct account — which incurred $107,000 in overdraft fees for the Williams’.
In June, the bank contacted the couple and told them they were "responsible for the return of all the funds"; the pair agreed to establish a payment plan, after admitting they had already burned through most of the money.
Tiffany told bank officials "she no longer had the funds because she had already paid off bills. She told the bank her husband had spent a great portion of the funds and purchased a four-wheeler," said State Trooper Aaron Brown, per the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. "She said she would speak to her husband and attempt to construct a repayment agreement."
But court papers show that after two initial phonecalls, the pair then stopped returning the banks calls.
Before their "windfall", the couple’s bank account had an average balance of about $1,000; it had exactly $1,121 in it before the erroneous deposit.
The duo were arraigned on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property on Tuesday, and released on $25,000 bail each.
If found guilty, they could go straight to jail without passing "Go."
Source: Read Full Article