Couple flee after finding £4m in their bank account.

[Irish Alan]

What would you do... Give it back or do a runner?

New Zealand couple flee after finding £4m in their bank account

It might be time to end our cynicism towards cheery slogans peddled by the world's commercial banks. A couple from New Zealand, for example, now have every reason to believe their local bank's motto: making the most of life.

The pair, named in media reports as Leo Gao and Cara Young, could hardly believe their luck when they checked their account at Westpac bank on 5 May, hoping to find their request for a NZ$10,900 (£4,000) overdraft had been accepted.

Instead, the bank had deposited 1,000 times that amount: NZ$10m, or around £4m. With so many borrowers around the world constantly being told "no" by their creditors, here, finally, was a bank that liked to say "yes".

Last night the accidental millionaires from Rotorua, a tourist city on the north island overlooking, appropriately enough, the Bay of Plenty, are on an Interpol wanted list after fleeing with the bulk of their windfall two weeks ago.

While their whereabouts remains a mystery, local reports speculated they may have fled to China or South Korea after transferring as much as NZ$6m to an offshore account.

The local newspaper, the Rotorua Review, said a police official had been sent to China to search for the couple.

Police said they were treating the case as theft but offered only sketchy details. "We are currently conducting an investigation into the individuals that may have been involved in the withdrawal of the money," detective David Harvey told reporters in Rotorua, which until now was known mainly for its geysers and mud pools.

"The individuals associated with this account are believed to have left New Zealand and police were working through Interpol to locate those individuals," he said, adding that the bank had recovered some of the cash, thought to be about NZ$4m.

Westpac, an Australian bank with 10 million customers, said the overpayment had been the result of human error and it was "pursuing vigorous criminal and civil action" to recover the money.

Gao and Young, who ran a BP petrol station on the outskirts of the city, had reportedly been struggling financially for several months. The station was closed on 6 May and the couple vanished the following day. Twenty-four hours later, their business was put into receivership.

Though Gao and Young hardly qualify as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde – they are thought to be armed with little more than a change of clothes, passports and an ATM card – the unlikely fugitives have become the topic du jour among Rotorua's 55,000 residents.

Neighbours described Gao as a "really nice guy" who lived with his mother and brothers, and Young and her daughter Lena, all of whom have vanished. "We thought he was pretty honest, but it turns out he's not," the manager of the neighbourhood's off-licence told 3 News. The saga has hurled New Zealanders into the kind of moral maze that Gao and Young appeared to have spent just a few seconds navigating before deciding to skirt around it altogether.

Given the battering the banking industry has taken over the past year, many admitted that, if gifted with a similar sum, they would rather live as wealthy fugitives than remain out of pocket but with a clear conscience.

"Best of luck to them," wrote one browser on the 3 News website. "The banks are as honest as the power companies."

But another was horrified by the level of support for the couple: "I can't believe the number of people that say they would keep the money. These people have taken money that wasn't theirs, no matter which way you look at it."

Experts do not expect it will take investigators long to catch up with the couple; the only question is how much they can splurge before they are found.

In a case in the US last year, a Pennsylvania couple quit their jobs and fled the state after withdrawing $175,000 (£110,000) that had mistakenly been credited to their account. They were arrested in Florida.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/ma ... ee-westpac

[laphanphon]

can't say i wouldn't of done the same, though left less of an electronic trail. moved to a bunch of accounts, then started withdrawaling all day from atms till cashed out. now there's a backpack full of fun.

[aznyron]

I would have paid off my truck and gave the rest back & told them that my reward money for retuning it
I would have put them on the defensive and embarrassed them I don't need that kind of money & the problems that go with it

[laphanphon]

only if i was single, wouldn't try it with a family, well, maybe just a gf. that would be one permanent vacation.

[BobHelm]

Running a business that was failing so badly that you need a loan just to keep running it (presumably still at a loss) and suddenly getting the "jack pot" in your bank account
Yes, I can see why they would take the money & run.
Personally I hope that they get away with it & it brings them great happiness in the future, although experience tells me this is doubtful.....

[JimboPSM]

The knee-jerk reaction of most people to this news is indicative of the low estimation that banks are held in today.

The way that banks have been behaving towards their customers in recent times makes what happened to the bank appear to be a form of poetic justice.

However the fact that many banks have been behaving irresponsibly and badly does not justify equally bad behaviour by others - what the couple did is actually tantamount to theft.

In a law abiding society two wrongs do not make a right.

[aznyron]

Jimbo I do agree with you how ever if you read my post I am taking my 10% finders fee which would be a lot more than my truck pay off so I am actually doing them a favor by NOT hanging them out to dry but this is ludicrous since it did not happen to any one of us

[JimboPSM]

........ but this is ludicrous since it did not happen to any one of us

Actually something partially similar did happen to my Mother.

About thirty years ago she received her bank statement showing that a deposit of several million pounds had been made in her bank account. My Mother came from a fairly strict Scottish Presbyterian background and this actually caused her a lot of distress as she knew that it was not her money and by the time she received her statement the money had been in her account for a couple of weeks.

As I was an accountant and she was never comfortable dealing with banks she immediately got hold of me and asked me to contact the bank and sort it out - which I did.

It was an error which had been undetected for a couple of weeks until my Mother got her statement and I notified the bank - incidentally my Mother did not receive any thanks for pointing out their error (probably they were too embarrassed), any apology for the distress it caused her and also did not receive any interest for the couple of weeks that it was on deposit.

[BobHelm]

I am sure that there was a case in the UK (a couple of years ago now) where a couple had a similar thing happen (not millions but a couple of hundred thousand). The couple contacted the bank (on more than one occasion) to be told that there was no mistake. So, after quite a while, they started spending it. Eventually the bank did discover the mistake & came after the couple for full repayment. I cannot remember the eventual outcome but I am pretty sure that the courts found that the couple were responsible to repay everything...

[laphanphon]

i agree 100 %, it is theft, but it seems everyone in this position, and think all have been caught, never do time, simply return the unused money, and get their 5 min. of fame. on guy in philly (joey coil, i think) found a bag of money from armored car that somehow fell out. took couple weeks but the caught, defense, temporary insanity, innocent, 15 min of fame and made for tv movie. being poor and finding a million dollars would make anyone insane for a short period.

even though it is theft, i would take my chances, if single, that much money, it would take a long time to find me. cruise the caribbean, island to island, then thru the panama canal to avoid hurricane season, and do west mexican coast, then repeat.

[beer monkey]

You couldn't get away with keeping it...so don't think i would try, a recent case i read about was a Faulty ATM machine that just kept giving out money and not taking it from the persons account, the pair just kept with drawing large sums..until the bank noticed where the mistakes/withdrawals lead to...was tens of thousand of pounds...and she worked in a bank..!!! they brought everything and had thousands in cash in the house....all on their small overdraft, sure both where jailed and have to repay the dosh, the withdrawals went on for some time, really don't think you would not be captured.

Mind you a fresh ID...plastic surgery..a new head of hair,new teeth, a whole new style re-invent your self as a self made man...could be possible....but being on the run for the rest of your life might no be for everyone...and depends on your age of course.

[old-timer]

Mind you a fresh ID...plastic surgery..a new head of hair,new teeth, a whole new style re-invent your self as a self made man...could be possible....but being on the run for the rest of your life might no be for everyone...and depends on your age of course.

me? - I'd be off................................................................

[beer monkey]

So You fancy A new Hair piece and a set of gnashers Old T....

[Irish Alan]

I was taking money out of a Bank of Ayudhaya ATM and wanted 10,000 Baht but as the money came out it scrunched up and I thought oh deary me (or words to that effect) as I thought I would only get 7-8K but there was 13,000 Baht in total. Needless to say I rushed inside and paid back the extra 3K... :-"

[beer monkey]

Thats exceptable, and lets face it you may well not have even counted it as it came out...wonder what would of happened if only 7-8 k came out...what are the chances of getting the rest off the bank.

[Irish Alan]

About the same as my bank accidentally putting €4M in my bank account.

[rick]

Happened to me once....... got 2,000 paid into a savings account unexpectedly. Turned up at bank a few days later and tried a small withdrawal (within what i already had). Bastards just corrected account without a word.

I wish them the best of luck, in their circumstances, near impossible to resist. Like winning the lottery, but with the knowledge you are going to pay in the end