The family of Darren James had a taste of being dollar billionaires, albeit for a short period, when his wife’s bank erroneously credited her account with $50 billion (N20,525,000,000,000).
According to 47-year-old James, his wife called to inform him that he needed to sit down before she gave him the unexpected news.
When he did, she informed him that the billions had been deposited on her account, after which she showed him the bank balance on phone upon getting home.
James reached out to Chase bank where he alerted the officials about the unexpected deposit.
James told the media, as reported by Newsweek:
“It was crazy just to see what it looks like because I’ve never seen that many zeros in my life. I wasn’t going to keep it.”
He is, however, quick to admit that before making the call, he considered the possibility of a rich relative leaving them the money in inheritance.
They could not place a finger on anyone in their circle who could have such an amount of money, prompting them to inform the bank to direct it to the correct account.
He told Fox TV:
“We knew it wasn’t ours. We didn’t earn it, so we couldn’t do anything with it.”
After staying in the account for four days, the bank finally corrected the error but the family is yet to be informed how or why that happene
The family is concerned that the error could potentially mean their bank account is compromised.
James adds that as much as the money was not theirs, those four days gave them the amazing feeling of being among the richest people in their country.
“There’s enough greatness in this world where we can all have a life we never thought was possible so if I did have $50 billion, I would bless others,” James responded when asked what he could do if the money was his.”
As much as such errors are normal with banking, the law prohibits recipients of such finances from keeping or withdrawing them.
Individuals who spend such money are usually at risk of being charged with theft or receiving stolen property.
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