Crime (even inadvertent) doesn't pay

No such thing as 'Finder's keepers' or 'possession is nine-tenths...'

from JoeUser Forums

Saw a blurb in the small freebie paper published by The Washington Post, the express.

Apparently originally from AP (Associated Press), under the Crime category:

Find, Keep, Spend

A La Vista, Neb., man was charged with felony theft after he spend $80,000 his bank mistakenly deposited in his account.  George J. Costa, 45, is charged with theft of lost or mislaid property.  It's a crime to take money given by mistake.  More than $106,000 was deposited into his account between August 2006 and February after the bank mixed up account numbers.  "'Finder's keepers' and 'possession is nine-tenths of the law' aren't legal principles," said attorney Lee Polikov.

Ooops!

I actually do feel a bit sorry for the guy, though I would hazzard a guess that he probably never bought the matter to the attention of the bank to get things resolved, and he most certainly had to realize that the money wasn't his.

1,057 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't see how this could be 'inadvertent.' The guy did not inform the bank of the error and spent money that was not his. What a fool! I hope they take him for everything he's got.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
On the other hand, maybe he didn't really steal it... maybe he just lost it or mislaid it?
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
If you are going to claim possession - best to move it to another bank under another name and move!
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Haha, in the military pay screw-ups are common and many families find themselves in a dire financial situation when they have been credited too much money and don't realize it's a mistake and go ahead and spend it. The Army WILL take it back, and not always in payments or anything kind like that.

Heh, when Adrian first signed up they had him paying child support to someone in Kentucky (neither of us have ever been there) and it was a big pain to get them to stop the payments and give our money back.

Of course, $106K is not a "hmm...this must be the moving allowance they owe us, let's spend it on beer and curtains". The guy could claim he didn't know if he just spent a couple hundred or so if the money was just trickling in.

Spending $80K without saying anything about the mistake is criminal, though (and stupid).