Couple who went on £97k spending spree when money was mistakenly added to their bank account are arrested on theft charges – The Sun

A COUPLE who went on a spending spree with money deposited in their bank account by mistake have been arrested on charges of theft.

Robert Williams, 36, and wife Tiffany, 35, received $120,000 (£97,000) that wasn't theirs after a mistake by a teller.

Instead of notifying the bank, the Pennsylvania couple purchased an SUV, two quad bikes, a camper, a race car, and even gave $15,000 to friends.

By the time the mistake was noticed three weeks later, they had spent around $107,000 (£87,000).

When contacted by officials from the BB&T bank, Ms Williams reportedly said she no longer had the money because she had used it to pay off bills.

She initially told the bank that she and her husband would work out a payment plan to return the money, but stopped communicating after two phone calls, leading the bank to contact police.

The couple received the erroneous deposit, intended for investment firm Dimension Covington Investment, on May 31 of this year, and it was withdrawn on June 20.

Before the deposit, they had had $1,121 in their account.

When investigators spoke to the pair in July, both "admitted to knowing the mislaid money did not belong to them, but they spent it anyway", according to state trooper Aaron Brown.

The couple are now responsible for paying back the money, and face charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and a conspiracy charge.

They have each posted bail of $25,000 and been released from custody.

They have not commented to US media and it is not clear whether they have obtained legal counsel.

A neighbour of the pair told local station WNEP-TV: "That is kind of shocking.

"With all the procedures the bank have set up, checking and double checking and triple checking, there's no way anybody gets away with that stuff."

A man at the couple's home identifying himself as Robert's father said: "I have no idea.

"I don't even know what's going on. I'm just the dad."

BB&T bank told CNN: "While we can't comment on the specifics of this issue due to client privacy practices, we always work as quickly as possible to address any issue that affects our clients."

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