Woman Arrested After Refusing To Return $1.2 Million Put In Her Bank By Accident

Most of us have probably dreamt at one point or another of waking up to find our bank account magically full of money. Well, for this woman, that did happen, only it hasn’t turned out to be the dream-come-true that we all think it might be. Authorities arrested a woman from New Orleans last week after refusing to return $1.2 million USD that was mistakenly transferred into her bank account. The woman was fired from her job and is facing multiple charges. (1)

Woman Arrested After Refusing to Return $1.2 Million

33-year-old Kelyn Spadoni was a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Louisiana, New Orleans. One morning, she woke up to find her bank account had a lot more money in it than it did when she’d gone to bed. She quickly transferred the money into a different account and used it to buy a house and a new car. Unfortunately for her, that money wasn’t hers. Now, she has been arrested for refusing to return $1.2 million wired to her accidentally by Charles Schwab financial services company. (1)

The Charges

Spadoni naturally lost her job at the sheriff’s office, and authorities currently have her up on several charges. Charles Schwab is also suing her in federal court. (1) Charges include theft valued at more than $25,000, bank fraud, and illegal transmission of monetary funds (2).

How Did This Happen?

Charles Schwab meant to send $82.56 to Spadoni’s account. This was about one month after the company installed an enhancement to the software they use to transfer assets. Instead of sending the intended amount, they accidentally sent $1,205,619. (1) Staff attempted to stop the transfer, but it was too late. They sent a reclaim request the next day. However, Spadoni had already transferred the money to a different account. They received a notification stating, “CASH NOT AVAILABLE.” (1) After repeated attempts to contact Spadoni with no luck, they quickly realized that the woman had no intentions of returning the money to its rightful owners. The lawsuit reads:

“Spadoni has refused to take Schwab’s calls, and instead, she has taken steps to prevent Schwab from recovering the funds… By her conduct, Spadoni has made it clear she does not intend to return the mistakenly transferred funds to Schwab.” (1)

So far, Schwab’s lawyers have been able to recoup about 75% of the money. Spadoni was held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in place of a bond set at $50,000. (2)

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