Bank Error Put $1.2M in Her Account, Ends in Her Arrest

Louisiana woman Kelyn Spadoni was fired, too
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 13, 2021 1:45 PM CDT
Cops: Woman Tried to Keep $1.2M Bank Overpayment
Police say that even though the money was in Kelyn Spadoni's account, 'It's not her money.'   (pexels.com/Karolina Grabowska)

A Louisiana woman was fired and arrested after allegedly treating a $1.2 million bank error like it was a lottery win. Police say 33-year-old Kelyn Spadoni refused to return $1,205,619.56 after Charles Schwab bank accidentally transferred it to her brokerage account, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. She had been meant to receive $82.56. According to a federal lawsuit, when the bank tried to reclaim the funds the day after the February software error, some of the money had already been transferred out of the account and Spadoni refused to respond to calls and emails over the next month. Investigators say she used the money to buy a house and a new car, reports WVUE.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says Spadoni was fired as a 911 dispatcher on the same day she was arrested on fraud and theft charges last week. She is now free on $150,000 bond. Authorities say most of the money has now been recovered. The bank says her account contract included a requirement to return funds after any accidental payments, but she would have had no legal claim to the money in any case. "I think most people understand about how much money is in their bank accounts,” sheriff's office spokesman Capt. Jason Rivarde tells the New York Times. "When you're expecting $80 and you get $1.2 million, there’s probably something wrong there." (Citibank can't recover $500 million it sent in error.)

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