Bank Error in Couple's Favor Gets Them Charged With Theft

A couple in Montoursville, Pennsylvania has learned the hard way that Monopoly rules do not apply to real life and that bank errors in your favor do not mean you can keep the money.

Police say when Robert and Tiffany Williams checked their account balance with BB&T bank and found an extra $120,000, they didn't question the mysterious money and went on a shopping spree. Over the course of two-and-a-half weeks, the couple withdrew more than $100,000 from the account, spending it on their bills, a down payment for a Chevrolet SUV, a camper, a car trailer, and even a race car, state Trooper Aaron Brown told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette

About $15,000 was given to their friends who needed it, court records show.

As it turned out, a teller at the couple's bank had accidentally deposited the $120,000 in the couple's account on May 31 when it should have gone to Dimension Covington Investment, LLC. The error was discovered nearly a month later on June 20, leaving the Williamses overdrawn by $107,416. The couple's previous average balance on that account was about $1,000, the report said. Before the teller's error, the couple had $1,121 in their account.

When the bank notified the Williamses they were on the hook for the remaining $107,416, Tiffany Williams, 35, reportedly told bank officials that she no longer had any of the funds after paying off bills. Tiffany said she would work on a repayment plan with the bank after she spoke with her husband.

Bank officials called state police in July after attempts to communicate with the couple were unsuccessful. The couple admitted to investigators to knowing the money had been mistakenly deposited in their account but spent it anyway.

The pair were arraigned last week on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property. They were released on $25,000 bail each.


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