Man Arrested for Spending N750 Million from Bank’s Mistake of Depositing N24 Billion in His Account
A Trinidad man, Joel Julien, has been arrested for spending over N750 million that was mistakenly deposited into his account by a bank.
The bank had a system glitch that caused 32,347,308.55 dollars (about N24 billion) to go into Julien’s personal account, Jamaican Observer reported.
Julien took advantage of the bank’s error and withdrew cash from ATMs and bought items with his card. He did this between November 18 and December 1 last year, without notifying the bank or returning the money.
The bank discovered the mistake when they checked their records. They tried to recover the money from Julien, but he refused to cooperate. They reported him to the Fraud Squad, a special unit of the police that handles crimes like this.
The Fraud Squad officers, led by Senior Superintendent Arlet Groome, investigated the case and arrested Julien. They also found 600,501 dollars (about N450 million) in cash at his home. Julien was charged with larceny, which is a crime of stealing something that belongs to someone else.
He will have to face the court and explain why he took the money that was not his. He could face a jail term or a fine if found guilty.
