A Louisiana father has unexpectedly become $50 billion richer due to a banking mistake that appeared on his account. For a brief moment, Darren James, a father-of-two, became part of the World's Billionaire's List, but he knew his astounding fortune was just short-lived.
According to The Sun, James did not know anyone who could transfer or give him $50 billion, so he was sure that the money he saw in his account was not meant for him. He also knew he had to do the right thing and inform his bank about the oversight.
The 47-year-old, who used to work with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety, almost wished the billions were a gift from a relative he had never met, but he had to face reality and acknowledge that the money was not for his family. If he kept quiet about the cash, he could get in trouble with the law.
"Never seen that many zeros in my life!"
So, James got in touch with Chase to reverse the banking error. The bank, however, did not disclose the origin of the $50 billion, except to say that they had a technical glitch.
For days, James kept looking at the digits on his bank account, which Chase had already placed on hold. James relayed that he and his family felt the thrill of being billionaires, even for just a few days.
"It showed up on Saturday," the father said, adding that his wife was supposed to make a deposit to his daughter when they discovered the money. "It stayed there Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it was gone."
Speaking with Daily Record, the father said he had "never seen that many zeros" on his bank account. But if he did have that kind of money, he would use it to build a children's hospital and help other families.
Sisters spent someone else's millions
While James was honest about his unexpected windfall, two sisters spent the money mistakenly deposited into one of their bank accounts. Thevamanogari Manivel from Melbourne received $10.5 million by accident from Crypto.com. She transferred some of the money to her sister, Thilagavathy Gangadory, in Malaysia. They never informed the platform of the mistake but instead spent the money to buy a house and other big-ticket items.
According to CNBC, Manivel was trading with Crypto.com and was expecting a $100 refund. Instead, she got millions in payments in May 2021.
The error, however, was discovered after seven months only following a routine internal audit. It was traced to an employee from a Singapore-based company who mistakenly placed an account number in the amount field.
By the time the transaction was traced, the sisters were already on a spending spree. Crypto.com has filed a lawsuit against them and asked to freeze Manivel's account with Commonwealth Bank. Gangadory's bank account remains untouched as she has not replied to the lawyers of Crypto.com.
