Couple in Hot Water After $6M Bank Transfer Error

So what would you do if a cryptocurrency company accidentally transferred more than $6 million into your bank account? Thevamanogari Manivel and partner Jatinder Singh of Australia went on a monumental spending spree—one that included four houses—and now both are in big legal trouble as a result, reports 9News. It seems that in May 2021, Crypto.com was supposed to refund Singh $100, but a worker in Bulgaria entered a few wrong numbers on a spreadsheet and, voila, the massive amount showed up in the couple's bank account, per the Australian Associated Press. Singh told authorities, as well as Manivel, that he thought he'd won a contest, though a Crypto.com compliance officer says no such contest existed.

The company noticed the error in an end-of-year audit and has since been repaid more than $4 million of the sum, with the rest outstanding. Singh and Manivel have pleaded not guilty to theft charges, brought because they withdrew and spent the money, and their fates may hinge on whether a court believes it was all an innocent mistake. Singh is jailed in Australia, while Manivel has been granted release on a $6,000 bond as she awaits trial; as part of the conditions of her release, she must turn over her passport. (This is the same crypto firm for whom Matt Damon did a now infamous commercial, with the slogan, "Fortune favors the brave.")