Consumer Law

He Thought They Just Wouldn't Notice

By Robert Duff, Esq.

Haven't you ever wished the bank would make a mistake and through some glitch deposit about a hundred thousand dollars in your account? And then never find out? Tell me you've never thought about that! Anyway, that happened to George Costanza, oops, I mean George J. Costa of La Vista, Nebraska. More than $106,000 was deposited in his account between August 2006 and February 2007 after a bank employee mixed up account numbers. What did Mr. Costa do? He spent most of it. What's happening to Mr. Costa now? He's being charged with felony theft.

Does Mr. Costa owe the bank the money? Almost certainly. Will he be convicted of theft? That's a much tougher call, but I definitely wouldn't like to be in Mr. Costa's position. Mr. Costa's lawyer said: "If somebody sticks money in your pocket and you spend it, you can't be convicted of theft." I'm not sure that's what happened here, but good luck. At least there's an argument to be made.

Mr. Costa probably would have a better chance of escaping a conviction if he hadn't spent the money on lottery tickets. Ok, I'm kidding on that one!!!!!

Full post as published by Indiana Consumer Lawyer Blog on April 27, 2007 (boomark / email).