Ronald Page seemingly had it made when Bank of America unintentionally changed his account status, allowing the 55-year-old man to make unlimited ATM cash overdraft withdrawals.
But ABC News reports that Page, who in reality had only $300 in his checking account, used the accidental loophole to withdraw more than $1.5 million—losing it all on gambling.
And even worse for Page, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit says he is now facing 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of theft of bank funds, $1,543,104 in total between December 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.
“In this case, the bank’s glitch allowed the defendant to lose a significant amount of money that was not even his in the first place,” reads the U.S. Attorney’s sentencing memorandum, obtained by ABC. “The fact that defendant acted on an impulse does not minimize the seriousness of his conduct and the need for a custodial sentence.”
The day the Bank of America glitch went into effect, Page reportedly withdrew $312,000 from ATMs at the Greektown Casino in Detroit and an additional $51,727 from the MGM Grand Casino. Bank of America placed a hold on his account 17 days later, but he had already withdrawn $1.5 million by that point.
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Take it and run out of country seems prudent for most people today
So he says he lost it. If he is smart, he hid it and will serve 1 year in prison. Totally worth it for a 55 yr old vagrant, who will come out a millionaire.
15 months for $1.5M.
If he’d gone to a casino and bet it all on one single spin of a roulette wheel (or played one hand of blackjack, etc), that’s basically a 50/50 bet with an EV of $750K. If he’d won, he could have returned the money, paid tax on the 1.5M winnings (reducing the EV to around $400K, but since he owes no taxes if he loses and gets the $750K the government doesn’t keep), and everyone would have been happy.
For a buy with $300 to his name, there aren’t many jobs out there that pay either $0 or the equivalent of $50K/month.
It’s like how we always hear about the rogue traders who blow up their firms, but never a peep about the ones whose bets pay off.
Apparently the irony of locking up a man for stealing 1.5 million from a bank for their error is lost on most people.
Of course, if you are a bank, doing it intentionally, and lose it all you can just lie to congress about it… Oh well, justice in America.
A simple substitution for “glitch” and “defendant” in the sentencing memorandum leaves what sounds like part of the job description for a trader:
the bank’s
glitch[trading platform] allowed thedefendant[trader] to lose a significant amount of money that was not even his in the first placeExcellent. That’s a great idea for re-writing the news.