Author Topic: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error  (Read 27235 times)

markpst

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Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« on: September 08, 2019, 04:43:06 PM »
You can guess the result. They pretty much spent it all before the error was discovered and the bank asked for the funds back.


https://local12.com/news/offbeat/bank-transfers-120k-to-wrong-account-couple-charged-for-spending-it

solon

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2019, 08:24:43 PM »
Quote
State Police say the Williams bought an SUV, two four-wheelers, a camper, a car trailer, they also used the money on bills, car repairs, cash purchases and even gave $15,000 to friends in need.

These people are unhinged. They're their own worst enemy.

Monerexia

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2019, 09:48:30 PM »
This happened to me when I was about 19 and super-broke--an extra $4000+ appeared in my account. Not gonna lie I did dip into it but luckily was flush when it came out a couple weeks later.

gooki

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2019, 04:29:46 AM »
Bank error in your favour, move directly to go and collect 200 dollars.

DadJokes

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2019, 06:19:17 AM »
Bank error in your favour, move directly to go and collect 200 dollars.

Bank realizes that they made bank error in your favor. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go.

ender

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2019, 06:40:45 AM »
On the one hand, it's incredibly dumb they didn't wonder about whether they should spend the money and instead just spent it.

But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Feels like the bank ought to own at least a little bit of their responsibility in this.

SwordGuy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2019, 07:07:48 AM »
On the one hand, it's incredibly dumb they didn't wonder about whether they should spend the money and instead just spent it.

But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Feels like the bank ought to own at least a little bit of their responsibility in this.

Banks write the laws, not customers.

partgypsy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2019, 07:15:59 AM »
I was thinking of posting this, glad someone did. I don't think they should be charged late fees to pay back, since it took the bank WEEKS to even notice. But yeah. I mean if something like that happened to me, the first thing I'd do was call the bank and say what's up? I'd do that before spending it. They acted like if they spent it all before the bank noticed it, they would be able to keep it? Not sure what they were thinking.

DadJokes

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2019, 07:24:01 AM »
I was thinking of posting this, glad someone did. I don't think they should be charged late fees to pay back, since it took the bank WEEKS to even notice. But yeah. I mean if something like that happened to me, the first thing I'd do was call the bank and say what's up? I'd do that before spending it. They acted like if they spent it all before the bank noticed it, they would be able to keep it? Not sure what they were thinking.


Just Joe

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2019, 07:29:54 AM »
Might be fun to leave it alone since we all know the bank will come for it - and spend a few days checking the balance and daydreaming about that money being your's. Sort of like looking at fancy cars you'll never own.

Kazyan

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2019, 01:39:01 PM »
The assignment of responsibility for the mistake and what should-or-shouldn't have happened is an interesting discussion, but more to the point...who gets a $120k windfall and then spends it on cars, cars, car accessories, and cars? Oof.

Shinplaster

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #11 on: September 09, 2019, 02:12:14 PM »
Might be fun to leave it alone since we all know the bank will come for it - and spend a few days checking the balance and daydreaming about that money being your's. Sort of like looking at fancy cars you'll never own.

We had $80,000 appear in one of our accounts a couple of years ago.  DH called the bank and told them it wasn't ours.  Of course we didn't spend it, but it was interesting to see how long it took for it to disappear again.  2 months!  For 2 months TD bank misplaced someone else's money, and even after being told, did not correct it.

I think we should have gotten a fee for storing it for them that long.   : )

slugline

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2019, 02:13:30 PM »
Not as epic as the overdraft legend of Luke "Milky" Moore of Australia, but still a decent story.

Zamboni

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2019, 02:13:56 PM »
^^^Ummm, everyone! Who doesn't need more cars and cars?!

When I was 17 years old I deposited a $300 check and the bank teller put it in as $30,000. I noticed it on the deposit ticket that night. Sure enough, $30K was in my checking. That amount of money completely freaked me out and I did not spend it. The bank noticed and fixed it shortly thereafter. True story. Glad I didn't buy a couple of cars!

DadJokes

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #14 on: September 09, 2019, 02:44:21 PM »
Not as epic as the overdraft legend of Luke "Milky" Moore of Australia, but still a decent story.

Wow, that was a crazy read.

I guess I'm a bore, but if I had a massive bank error in my favor, the craziest thing I would think up is to see how much interest I could earn before the bank realized its error.

Zamboni

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #15 on: September 09, 2019, 03:13:37 PM »
Hahaha, Milky is my idol.

theSlowTurtle

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #16 on: September 09, 2019, 03:35:35 PM »
Would be great to put it in a CD with that same bank, when they come asking for it say you can have the principal, I will take the interest...feel like you could argue that case and win

Plugra

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #17 on: September 09, 2019, 06:23:09 PM »
Once long ago the bank made a mistake in my favor on my credit card account - giving me a credit when they should have charged me a debit.  I actually wrote them a letter (using a "typewriter" -- google it) explaining their mistake and inviting them to correct it.  Instead they doubled the mistake, so I was now ahead twice.  So I said 'f*** it' and spent the money.

 

bacchi

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #18 on: September 09, 2019, 09:41:07 PM »
Not as epic as the overdraft legend of Luke "Milky" Moore of Australia, but still a decent story.

Wow, that was a crazy read.

I guess I'm a bore, but if I had a massive bank error in my favor, the craziest thing I would think up is to see how much interest I could earn before the bank realized its error.

You could take advantage of every bank transfer bonus out there.

Bloop Bloop

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2019, 01:08:07 AM »
Taking/spending the money is straight up theft.

marty998

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #20 on: September 10, 2019, 02:30:09 AM »
On the one hand, it's incredibly dumb they didn't wonder about whether they should spend the money and instead just spent it.

But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Feels like the bank ought to own at least a little bit of their responsibility in this.

Banks write the laws, not customers.

Most of the banking system is still built on that quaint notion of trust. You abuse that trust and you quickly find that all banks won't want to deal with you.

This couple is going to have an interesting time setting up a new bank account and getting loans when they eventually get out of jail (after not collecting $200). Good luck convincing a bank you're a good credit risk after that one.

meghan88

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #21 on: September 10, 2019, 07:47:56 AM »
Had a similar thing happen to me on a much smaller scale, in the form of a credit to a credit card.  I called the issuer three times over the next six months to try to get it resolved, and asked them to reverse the credit.  Each time, they thanked me for calling and promised to address it.  About a month after the third time, I gave up, spent the excess $ and closed out the card.

partgypsy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #22 on: September 10, 2019, 08:03:39 AM »
It's great that the Milky story had a happy ending!

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #23 on: September 10, 2019, 08:06:36 AM »
On the one hand, it's incredibly dumb they didn't wonder about whether they should spend the money and instead just spent it.

But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Feels like the bank ought to own at least a little bit of their responsibility in this.

Banks write the laws, not customers.

Most of the banking system is still built on that quaint notion of trust. You abuse that trust and you quickly find that all banks won't want to deal with you.

This couple is going to have an interesting time setting up a new bank account and getting loans when they eventually get out of jail (after not collecting $200). Good luck convincing a bank you're a good credit risk after that one.

Banks do have a system for sharing information about checking and savings account customers: who's likely to overdraw, which accounts required attention from the loss prevention department, etc. I think it's called "ChexSystems" or some such thing. Kind of like Santa Claus's naughty list but you don't get a do-over the following year.

partdopy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #24 on: September 10, 2019, 12:26:29 PM »
On the one hand, it's incredibly dumb they didn't wonder about whether they should spend the money and instead just spent it.

But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Feels like the bank ought to own at least a little bit of their responsibility in this.

How is it different then if a visitor left their wallet on your coffee table, then you took all the money and spent it?  Technically, they did leave the money in your house, right?

ender

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #25 on: September 10, 2019, 12:46:21 PM »
How is it different then if a visitor left their wallet on your coffee table, then you took all the money and spent it?  Technically, they did leave the money in your house, right?

If someone sent me a letter with money in it into my mailbox (instead of my neighbors) then yeah, I'd be a little inclined to say the sender had some responsibility in putting it into the wrong mailbox.

Then charge me with a felony.

This couple clearly was wrong for spending the money. But acting as if a bank has zero responsibility for their side of the mistake seems... wrong. For me, seeing that the couple is charged with a felony indicates that the bank (and law...) feels no responsibility rests with the bank for the problem.




SwordGuy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #26 on: September 10, 2019, 01:32:12 PM »
How is it different then if a visitor left their wallet on your coffee table, then you took all the money and spent it?  Technically, they did leave the money in your house, right?

If someone sent me a letter with money in it into my mailbox (instead of my neighbors) then yeah, I'd be a little inclined to say the sender had some responsibility in putting it into the wrong mailbox.

Then charge me with a felony.

This couple clearly was wrong for spending the money. But acting as if a bank has zero responsibility for their side of the mistake seems... wrong. For me, seeing that the couple is charged with a felony indicates that the bank (and law...) feels no responsibility rests with the bank for the problem.

Banks rent politicians to write the laws in their favor.

That's why, if they make a mistake they have FOREVER to correct it (if they want to), but if they take money from you by mistake and you don't notice it within a given time period, you have no recourse.  They get to keep it.

Banks have zero interest in fairness except as a p/r stunt.

DadJokes

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #27 on: September 10, 2019, 01:53:01 PM »
How is it different then if a visitor left their wallet on your coffee table, then you took all the money and spent it?  Technically, they did leave the money in your house, right?

If someone sent me a letter with money in it into my mailbox (instead of my neighbors) then yeah, I'd be a little inclined to say the sender had some responsibility in putting it into the wrong mailbox.

Then charge me with a felony.

This couple clearly was wrong for spending the money. But acting as if a bank has zero responsibility for their side of the mistake seems... wrong. For me, seeing that the couple is charged with a felony indicates that the bank (and law...) feels no responsibility rests with the bank for the problem.

Banks rent politicians to write the laws in their favor.

That's why, if they make a mistake they have FOREVER to correct it (if they want to), but if they take money from you by mistake and you don't notice it within a given time period, you have no recourse.  They get to keep it.

Banks have zero interest in fairness except as a p/r stunt.

It isn't just banks.

The number of pay issues in the military was crazy. DFAS screwed up people's paychecks all the time. If they owe you money, you file paperwork, and it can take weeks to get what you are owed. If you were overpaid, suddenly they have the ability to get things done quickly and pull the money out of your next paycheck.

ender

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #28 on: September 10, 2019, 02:08:44 PM »
Yeah, I think I'm in an unactionable frustration point about the unfairness of that relationship ;-)

mm1970

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #29 on: September 10, 2019, 04:27:41 PM »
How is it different then if a visitor left their wallet on your coffee table, then you took all the money and spent it?  Technically, they did leave the money in your house, right?

If someone sent me a letter with money in it into my mailbox (instead of my neighbors) then yeah, I'd be a little inclined to say the sender had some responsibility in putting it into the wrong mailbox.

Then charge me with a felony.

This couple clearly was wrong for spending the money. But acting as if a bank has zero responsibility for their side of the mistake seems... wrong. For me, seeing that the couple is charged with a felony indicates that the bank (and law...) feels no responsibility rests with the bank for the problem.

Banks rent politicians to write the laws in their favor.

That's why, if they make a mistake they have FOREVER to correct it (if they want to), but if they take money from you by mistake and you don't notice it within a given time period, you have no recourse.  They get to keep it.

Banks have zero interest in fairness except as a p/r stunt.

It isn't just banks.

The number of pay issues in the military was crazy. DFAS screwed up people's paychecks all the time. If they owe you money, you file paperwork, and it can take weeks to get what you are owed. If you were overpaid, suddenly they have the ability to get things done quickly and pull the money out of your next paycheck.
Ha, that happened when I'd been in the Navy about 6 months.  I added up my first couple of paychecks, and noticed that my VHA was maxed out, but my rent suggested that it should not be maxed out.  I asked MilPers and they said "Oh, I'm sure that they are just maxing you out, you are fine!"  Are you sure?  I mean, my rent is $308 a month, and my VHA+other housing is $750, and that's too much?  "We are sure!"

Yeah, a few months later, as I'm getting ready to transfer to school, I get the letter: "Hey, we've been overpaying you for over 6 months!"  Ya think?  "Would you like us to take the $900 out all at once or over a 6 month period?"  How about over 6 months, as $900 was more than a paycheck.  That worked for 1 month, then I moved to my new duty station, and my first paycheck there was $0.00.  Luckily I'd just gotten my tax refund. 

PDXTabs

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #30 on: September 10, 2019, 04:40:56 PM »
But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Right? If the cops did this it would be called it entrapment.

Guizmo

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #31 on: September 10, 2019, 09:06:11 PM »
One time I was offered a job at say 60,000 a year. I tried to negotiate but they said take it or leave. After I get my first paycheck I realized they are paying me 4k more per year than we had agreed. I called to let them know so they could fix it. I sent emails. But they never fixed it. 3 years later all my raises have been based on the extra 4k mistake that never should have been.

BTDretire

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #32 on: September 10, 2019, 09:08:48 PM »
If you spend $100,000 that you know is not your money, you should expect felony charges.
 They got what they deserved. They're idiots.

 My bank story, early in our marriage, (1980s) I made a deposit and the teller ask, "do your want your balance?"
 I said "sure", she slid a piece of paper over, it was a little over $12,000. I said, "that's not correct!: She assured me it was.
I said it's about $10,000 to much, she ask, "are you sure your wife did make a deposit?" I said" yes, I'm pretty sure!"
I didn't argue about it anymore and about 4 days later I got a letter saying "deposit in error, $10,400".

Bloop Bloop

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #33 on: September 10, 2019, 11:01:14 PM »
How is it different then if a visitor left their wallet on your coffee table, then you took all the money and spent it?  Technically, they did leave the money in your house, right?

If someone sent me a letter with money in it into my mailbox (instead of my neighbors) then yeah, I'd be a little inclined to say the sender had some responsibility in putting it into the wrong mailbox.

Then charge me with a felony.

This couple clearly was wrong for spending the money. But acting as if a bank has zero responsibility for their side of the mistake seems... wrong. For me, seeing that the couple is charged with a felony indicates that the bank (and law...) feels no responsibility rests with the bank for the problem.

Banks rent politicians to write the laws in their favor.

That's why, if they make a mistake they have FOREVER to correct it (if they want to), but if they take money from you by mistake and you don't notice it within a given time period, you have no recourse.  They get to keep it.

Banks have zero interest in fairness except as a p/r stunt.

And yet, despite all this, banks still loan you lots of money at a rate barely above inflation (in fact given that my loan is deductible, my interest rate on my mortgage is BELOW inflation), give you 30-55 days' interest free on all purchases, facilitate credit cards which give reasonable rewards, and even (in my country) provide cards with nil foreign transaction fees and very competitive conversion rates, better than any brick-and-mortar forex counter, anywhere.

And that's not even including banks' strong performance for shareholders.

In other words, I am 100% on the side of the banks.

PDXTabs

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #34 on: September 10, 2019, 11:01:51 PM »
If you spend $100,000 that you know is not your money, you should expect felony charges.
 They got what they deserved. They're idiots.

So the bank makes an error, and now taxpayers are on the hook to house and feed these people? Why isn't the bank taking responsibility for their actions on this one? They had one job.

They are idiots, but being an idiot shouldn't get you five years of free room and board at taxpayer expense.

Bloop Bloop

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #35 on: September 10, 2019, 11:36:41 PM »
Are you proposing we charge the criminals the cost of their incarceration? Because that would be fine too. But you would probably say that is harsh, or unjust.

Blaming the banks in this instance is nothing more or less than victim blaming. If a police officer accidentally leaves his gun on a table and I take it and shoot him, that does not mean that the police officer was at fault for my actions.


gooki

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #36 on: September 11, 2019, 02:47:39 AM »
Just split the responsibility 50/50.


PDXTabs

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #38 on: September 11, 2019, 08:08:58 AM »
If a police officer accidentally leaves his gun on a table and I take it and shoot him, that does not mean that the police officer was at fault for my actions.

That is not an equivalent analogy. The people in this story didn't use the money to kill a bank executive.

I don't expect the bank to take all of the blame. I do expect this to be a civil matter that can be resolved in civil court without criminal charges.

Bloop Bloop

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #39 on: September 11, 2019, 09:32:43 AM »
If a police officer accidentally leaves his gun on a table and I take it and shoot him, that does not mean that the police officer was at fault for my actions.

That is not an equivalent analogy. The people in this story didn't use the money to kill a bank executive.

I don't expect the bank to take all of the blame. I do expect this to be a civil matter that can be resolved in civil court without criminal charges.

It is an equivalent analogy. The couple saw a criminal opportunity and exploited it.

Why do you think theft should be a civil matter only? Aside from the fact that it's obviously a criminal offence, there needs to be a deterrent effect so that other criminals don't try this, hoping to either not get caught, or get caught at a stage when they know they have no ability to ever repay the funds.

I'm tired of people trying to justify blatant criminality. The bank is the victim. If this crime were not prosecuted, all of our bank shares would go down just a tiny bit - we would all be victims.

ColoAndy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #40 on: September 11, 2019, 10:03:45 AM »
I would love to be able to interview this couple. I can't imagine how they would attempt to justify this.

Boofinator

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #41 on: September 11, 2019, 10:07:32 AM »
But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Right? If the cops did this it would be called it entrapment.

Wrong. Entrapment requires intention toward the enablement of a crime. If the cops accidentally dropped a key of yay-yo, someone picked it up and started selling it, and then was busted when the cops caught him on a security camera grabbing the yay-yo and then had an undercover agent purchase from the same individual, this is in no way entrapment.

DadJokes

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #42 on: September 11, 2019, 10:28:41 AM »
But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Right? If the cops did this it would be called it entrapment.

Wrong. Entrapment requires intention toward the enablement of a crime. If the cops accidentally dropped a key of yay-yo, someone picked it up and started selling it, and then was busted when the cops caught him on a security camera grabbing the yay-yo and then had an undercover agent purchase from the same individual, this is in no way entrapment.

I'm apparently not very hip with the times, because I had no idea what yay-yo was.

For the other nerds out there: it's slang for cocaine, per Urban Dictionary.

partgypsy

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #43 on: September 11, 2019, 11:00:55 AM »
I'm on the fence on this one.

On one hand the couple should have to make some sort of restitution to the bank since they knew the money wasn't theirs. On the other hand the bank is also slapping them with overdraft fees once the funds were rolled back on the account.

Just making the couple do some community service and pay back the non-recoverable amount (after things have been sold, etc.) should be more than enough to send a strong message. Potentially hitting them with incarceration plus overdraft fees just seems petty for something that is borderline entrapment.

Don't forget that "found money" laws can be really weird - consider how the law works if people find a lot of money lying in the street with no clear owner. If we assume that banks are always correct (most people do), then they may have been acting like this was just "found money."

So I know personally what is my money and what is not, and  I would have not spent the money. But - two and a half weeks went by where the bank did not alert them or fix the error. Like Milky stated in his defense, what exactly is fraud, if the people have money in their account and spend it. It Was an error, but it wasn't like they held up a bank or performed some kind of cyber fraud to get the money. While I do think it is federally prosecutable as theft, I think the bank should have worked with them to recover the money, not charge overdfar fees and have them arrested in a perp walk.

Just Joe

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #44 on: September 11, 2019, 11:12:46 AM »
^^^Ummm, everyone! Who doesn't need more cars and cars?!

When I was 17 years old I deposited a $300 check and the bank teller put it in as $30,000. I noticed it on the deposit ticket that night. Sure enough, $30K was in my checking. That amount of money completely freaked me out and I did not spend it. The bank noticed and fixed it shortly thereafter. True story. Glad I didn't buy a couple of cars!

I know of someone years and years ago that was on the losing side of that mistake. Took months for the bank to fix it. Meanwhile it really hurt the person's budget.

charis

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #45 on: September 11, 2019, 11:22:22 AM »
One time I was offered a job at say 60,000 a year. I tried to negotiate but they said take it or leave. After I get my first paycheck I realized they are paying me 4k more per year than we had agreed. I called to let them know so they could fix it. I sent emails. But they never fixed it. 3 years later all my raises have been based on the extra 4k mistake that never should have been.

I really don't see any reasons to try to correct this, legally, ethically, morally, or whatever.  They set/approve your pay, if someone makes an error and it doesn't get "corrected," that's what they decided to pay you.  Unless you think they will come after you, like in the military.

Boofinator

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #46 on: September 11, 2019, 11:34:25 AM »
I'm apparently not very hip with the times, because I had no idea what yay-yo was.

For the other nerds out there: it's slang for cocaine, per Urban Dictionary.

I'm also a nerd, albeit one who's watched Scarface one too many times.

PDXTabs

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #47 on: September 11, 2019, 12:00:54 PM »
But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Right? If the cops did this it would be called it entrapment.

Wrong. Entrapment requires intention toward the enablement of a crime. If the cops accidentally dropped a key of yay-yo, someone picked it up and started selling it, and then was busted when the cops caught him on a security camera grabbing the yay-yo and then had an undercover agent purchase from the same individual, this is in no way entrapment.

Entrapment: In criminal law, entrapment is a practice whereby a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a criminal offense that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrapment

Are you saying that the bank, by transferring the money into their account, didn't induce them to commit a crime that they would have otherwise been unlikely to commit? Because as far as I can tell that is exactly what they did.

PDXTabs

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #48 on: September 11, 2019, 12:09:17 PM »
Why do you think theft should be a civil matter only? Aside from the fact that it's obviously a criminal offence, there needs to be a deterrent effect so that other criminals don't try this, hoping to either not get caught, or get caught at a stage when they know they have no ability to ever repay the funds.

I'm tired of people trying to justify blatant criminality. The bank is the victim. If this crime were not prosecuted, all of our bank shares would go down just a tiny bit - we would all be victims.

Because:
  • It was a business relationship gone bad. The business relationship was negotiated at arms length with a contract and I see no reason not to let civil law resolve this contract dispute.
  • The bank shareholders stand the best chance of recovering their money through civil channels. If you send these people to prison they aren't going to have jobs to pay back any settlement.
  • Prison costs taxpayers money. You are increasing the taxpayer burden while decreasing the likelihood that the bank ever sees their money by branding these people as felons.

To put it another way: why wouldn't you want to let the civil system, where no taxpayer money is at risk, handle this?

Boofinator

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Re: Bank transfers $120k into couples bank account in error
« Reply #49 on: September 11, 2019, 12:19:09 PM »
But on the other hand, I'm a bit incredulous that the bank can transfer money to them and then if they spend it, get felony charges.

Right? If the cops did this it would be called it entrapment.

Wrong. Entrapment requires intention toward the enablement of a crime. If the cops accidentally dropped a key of yay-yo, someone picked it up and started selling it, and then was busted when the cops caught him on a security camera grabbing the yay-yo and then had an undercover agent purchase from the same individual, this is in no way entrapment.

Entrapment: In criminal law, entrapment is a practice whereby a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a criminal offense that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrapment

Are you saying that the bank, by transferring the money into their account, didn't induce them to commit a crime that they would have otherwise been unlikely to commit? Because as far as I can tell that is exactly what they did.

induce: 1. to lead or move by influence or persuasion - The American Heritage Dictionary

https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-645-entrapment-elements:

Quote
A valid entrapment defense has two related elements: (1) government inducement of the crime, and (2) the defendant's lack of predisposition to engage in the criminal conduct....

Inducement is the threshold issue in the entrapment defense. Mere solicitation to commit a crime is not inducement. Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 451 (1932). Nor does the government's use of artifice, stratagem, pretense, or deceit establish inducement. Id. at 441. Rather, inducement requires a showing of at least persuasion or mild coercion, United States v. Nations, 764 F.2d 1073, 1080 (5th Cir. 1985); pleas based on need, sympathy, or friendship, ibid.; or extraordinary promises of the sort "that would blind the ordinary person to his legal duties," United States v. Evans, 924 F.2d 714, 717 (7th Cir. 1991). See also United States v. Kelly, 748 F.2d 691, 698 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (inducement shown only if government's behavior was such that "a law-abiding citizen's will to obey the law could have been overborne"); United States v. Johnson, 872 F.2d 612, 620 (5th Cir. 1989) (inducement shown if government created "a substantial risk that an offense would be committed by a person other than one ready to commit it").

Even if inducement has been shown, a finding of predisposition is fatal to an entrapment defense. The predisposition inquiry focuses upon whether the defendant "was an unwary innocent or, instead, an unwary criminal who readily availed himself of the opportunity to perpetrate the crime." Mathews, 485 U.S. at 63. Thus, predisposition should not be confused with intent or mens rea: a person may have the requisite intent to commit the crime, yet be entrapped. Also, predisposition may exist even in the absence of prior criminal involvement: "the ready commission of the criminal act," such as where a defendant promptly accepts an undercover agent's offer of an opportunity to buy or sell drugs, may itself establish predisposition.