Bank’s Error, Their Gain

This is a slightly old story, but I just found out about it while reading an old issue of Time in the UCSF Medical Center Radiation Oncology’s waiting room – a good argument for keeping old magazines in waiting rooms.

A New Zealand couple had applied for a $10,000 overdraft but approximately $10 million New Zealand dollars ($6.1 million US) was deposited into their Westpac Bank account by mistake.

So what did they do? You and I most likely would have done the right thing and contacted the bank, then called the news media so they could make fun of the bank. But not these two. They withdrew some of the money and took off for parts unknown.

Since they didn’t take all of the millions, some of the money has been recovered, although the bank declines to say exactly how much.

The perpetrators have been identified as Leo Gao and his Australian girlfriend, Cara Young, and are now believed to be in China. As it is a criminal offense for people to spend money accidently deposited into a bank account, Interpol has been alerted and is hot on their trail.

Well, maybe “hot” isn’t a good word here. China is a very big country. Good luck, Interpol.