Cops: Couple Blew $100K Mistakenly Put in Their Account

They've been charged with felony theft
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 9, 2019 1:21 AM CDT
Cops: Couple Went on Spending Spree After Bank's $120K Mistake
   (Getty Images/chengyuzheng)

After Pennsylvania couple Robert and Tiffany Williams received an unexpected windfall of $120,000, they went on a massive spending spree over the next two-and-a-half weeks, police say. One problem: The money wasn't theirs. Police say that after a BB&T bank teller accidentally deposited the $120,000 in their account on May 31, the couple spent more than $100,000 between June 3 and June 19, buying an SUV, a camper, a car trailer, and a race car, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports. They also allegedly used the money to pay off bills and distribute $15,000 to friends in need. State Trooper Aaron Brown says that when the error was detected around June 20, the money was pulled from the Williams' account, leaving them with an overdraft of more than $107,000.

The bank says that when it contacted Tiffany Williams, she promised to speak to her husband and set up a repayment plan. The bank says it called the police in July after further attempts to contact the couple failed. Robert Williams, 36, and Tiffany Williams, 35, face felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property. Their neighbors in Montoursville say they are surprised the couple didn't call the bank when the money appeared in their account. "That is kind of shocking, with all the procedures the banks have set up, checking and double-checking and triple-checking, there's no way anybody gets away with that stuff," neighbor Nate Weaver tells WNEP. (This bank let customers keep the extra cash after an ATM started spitting out $100 bills instead of smaller notes.)

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