Poll of the Day > Trailer Trash Couple spends $100,000 in 2 WEEKS after a BANK made a MISTAKE!!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

36 y/o Robert and 35 y/o Tiffany Williams, a Pennsylvania couple are accused of theft after they went on an illegal spending spree when a bank teller mistakenly put 100,000 smackers in their bank account!!

They received 120,000 in their account after a teller at BB&T put the money in their account on May 31

Instead of telling the bank,the trailer trash couple from Montoursvile blew the money in 2 and a half WEEKS!!

Between June 3 and 19,they purchased an SUV, a camper,a car trailer and 2 four wheelers and spent the rest on bills, car repairs, cash purchases and 15,000 to a friend in need

Before the large deposit,they only had $1121 in their bank..

BB&T realized the error on June 20 and transferred the funds to the correct recipient, Dimension Covington Investment LLC

But the couple already amassed 107,416 in overdraft fees

They contacted Tiffany explaining they were expected to repay all the funds but she told them they already blew it all.

She no longer had the funds after paying off bills and buying up lots of expensive goodies,especially the 4 wheeleres.

She said she'd speak to her husband and attempt to construct a repayment agreement

The bank tried contacting them again several times but they bailed

After police arrested them, they realized the money wasn't theirs but spent it anyway cause they never seen that much money before.

Neighbors, including Nate Weaver said it was shocking that the bank made the error with double and triple checking procedures

They were released on 25,000 bail after being charged with felony theft and stolen property

Do you think this trailer trash couple should have been allowed to keep the money?.

Tiffany and Robert - In Biiiiig Trouble









BB&T -



Nate - Neighbor



The goodies they bought -


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It's theft sure but I mean it was the banks mistake. I'm torn on this one but leaning more towards saying they shouldn't have to pay it back or get into trouble for someones mistake.
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when banks make mistakes like this, no, they absolutely should cover it.

because they are the ones who fucked up.
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Fair game. Banker should be fired for that gigantic mistake.
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Hmmm, I'm torn, but I certainly don't think they should go to jail, but instead just owe the bank, and be able to declare bankruptcy like anyone else. Banks error, they spent it, so they owe it, but yeah, they could get around that with bankruptcy.

Sending them to jail is wrong, they didn't steal it, the bank gave it to them, and they went with it.

Messed up system again where the poor people end up paying for things, going to jail etc, where people with money/connections would get away scott free (maybe having to repay the money, but certainly not having to pay anything back that they made with the money etc).

Should have hit a high stakes casino, bet it all on red or something and walked away with either 240k (and been able to pay the 120k back), or nothing, and then had to deal with the consequences. Still a 48% chance to walk away with 120k clear (although they would have to pay taxes).
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If I looked at my account and saw a 100k discrepancy, the first thing I would do is call the bank because obviously a mistake was made.

They knowingly spent money they didn't have. While I think jail is too much, they should definitely pay the money back.

The bank is the one that screwed up, the bank should take the punishment
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Lokarin posted...

The bank is the one that screwed up, the bank should take the punishment

The bank also rectified it.

The couple are a pair of adults. They damn well knew they were spending money that wasnt theirs. Its not like it was $500 extra that hit their account, it was 100x the amount they normally would have had.

Large corporations, including banks, do a lot of sleazy shit that they should be called out on. This isnt one of those times.
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Shit like this happens all the time, and people have to pay the banks back every single time.

Unless a precedent is set that they don't have to, I have no idea why people keep doing stupid shit like this.
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What is wrong with you all? You know it's not your money, why in the goddamn do you expect that you can keep it?
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EvilMegas posted...

What is wrong with you all? You know it's not your money, why in the goddamn do you expect that you can keep it?

Yeah I'm with you on this one. They shouldn't be fined or jailed (unless they did illegal things with it) but they damn well shouldn't expect to keep any of it. If people can ask the bank what's going on when they are unexpectedly missing money, they can ask just the same when they sudden gain unexpected money...

It's everybody's fault imo.
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Smiffwilm posted...

EvilMegas posted...

What is wrong with you all? You know it's not your money, why in the goddamn do you expect that you can keep it?

Yeah I'm with you on this one. They shouldn't be fined or jailed (unless they did illegal things with it) but they damn well shouldn't expect to keep any of it. If people can ask the bank what's going on when they are unexpectedly missing money, they can ask just the same when they sudden gain unexpected money...

It's everybody's fault imo.

Keeping it is actually illegal under the law. There is a thing under the law called theft by finding and I believe that is what this falls under.

In effect, they chanced upon a large sum of money and did not follow the legal steps to keep it for themselves, which includes reporting it to the bank and the police. This has happened in the favor of the account holder in the past when they did properly inform the bank and the bank took too long to act to recover the money.
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You get that much money, report it.
If they dont fix it in lets say a month, its yours.

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EvilMegas posted...

What is wrong with you all? You know it's not your money, why in the goddamn do you expect that you can keep it?

It's like if I found money. I wouldn't hand it in to lost and found or anything like that. Sure that's theft too but it wasn't my mistake so. That's not to say I wouldn't give it back if someone told me it's their cash and it seems legit.
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wwinterj25 posted...

Sure that's theft too but it wasn't my mistake so.

"It's okay to steal from people if they made a mistake that allowed you to take their money."

party_animal07 posted...

If I looked at my account and saw a 100k discrepancy, the first thing I would do is call the bank because obviously a mistake was made.

They knowingly spent money they didn't have. While I think jail is too much, they should definitely pay the money back.

Pretty much. If this were a discrepancy of a couple hundred, I'd be a lot more sympathetic to them, since that's a lot easier to not notice unless you're checking your statement every couple days, but this was $100,000 for a couple that had $1000. This is not a matter of not noticing it, it's a matter of noticing it and hoping nobody else would. They should absolutely be on the hook for that money.

who cares, ok?
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don't say trailer tr*sh; it's a classist slur
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they shouldn't of spent the money though. they obviously know it isn't theirs if 100k appears out of nowhere

what they did was basically stealing
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Donate it all to a breast cancer charity and watch the bank try something then. LOL
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_AdjI_ posted...

"It's okay to steal from people if they made a mistake that allowed you to take their money."

Having money paid into your account or finding it isn't actually taking it directly from them yourself so sure.
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If somebody makes a glaring mistake and you realize it, that doesn't give you the right to exploit it. They never even attempted to report the problem. Even though the bank made the initial error, the couple seems 100% at fault and the fact that they tried to ghost after saying they'd set up a repayment plan makes it even worse. The repayment plan alone demonstrates an acknowledgment that what they did was wrong.

And the couple's hardship didn't result from the bank making a mistake -- which would be excusable to write off if they hadn't realized something was wrong -- but instead because they decided to exploit the mistake. While the bank shouldn't have put them in the position to commit a crime of opportunity, it's hard to feel bad for them because they chose to spend money they knew shouldn't have gone to them.
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I'm pretty sure its widely known that if a bank makes that kind of huge mistake, you're liable for spending that money

Zeus posted...

the couple seems 100% at fault

Eh.
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wwinterj25 posted...

_AdjI_ posted...

"It's okay to steal from people if they made a mistake that allowed you to take their money."

Having money paid into your account or finding it isn't actually taking it directly from them yourself so sure.

Spending it when you know it isn't yours is, though. Simply finding it isn't taking it, but when you decide to use it for yourself, you are making a decision to take it and act as though it's yours.

I mean I never said it technically isn't theft. I don't know man. I'm even more open to the idea when I've found things.
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wwinterj25 posted...

I mean I never said it technically isn't theft.

Just that theft is okay when it's partially their fault instead of 100% yours. Which is what I said.

wwinterj25 posted...

I'm even more open to the idea when I've found things.

That can be fairer. If you at least put in a suitable effort (which may be no effort at all if there's no chance of them ever getting it back regardless of what you do) to return something lost first, then taking something you've found for yourself is pretty justifiable.
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I think the couple is almost 100% in the wrong here and what they did was theft. HOWEVER, one thing I must specifically point out:
Full Throttle posted...

BB&T realized the error on June 20 and transferred the funds to the correct recipient, Dimension Covington Investment LLC

But the couple already amassed 107,416 in overdraft fees

The bank can fuck right off with that overdraft fee bull shit!

I assume they meant 7,416 in fees, otherwise the bank would be functionally doubling their money
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Lokarin posted...

I assume they meant 7,416 in fees, otherwise the bank would be functionally doubling their money

Given that it's a bank, I wouldn't be surprised if they did try to pull that shit.
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streamofthesky posted...

I think the couple is almost 100% in the wrong here and what they did was theft. HOWEVER, one thing I must specifically point out:
Full Throttle posted...

BB&T realized the error on June 20 and transferred the funds to the correct recipient, Dimension Covington Investment LLC

But the couple already amassed 107,416 in overdraft fees

The bank can fuck right off with that overdraft fee bull shit!

That is indeed nonsense. Overdraft fees in general are one thing, but dinging them with overdraft fees after they spent money that was actually in their account is terrible. Charge them interest on the repayment, sure, but not overdraft fees.
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Zangulus posted...

likehelly posted...

when banks make mistakes like this, no, they absolutely should cover it.

because they are the ones who fucked up.

Yeah. No. Maybe someone transposed numbers on their slip and the bank didnt have anything to do with it?

then the bank should, y'know, figure that out.

it's a bank. these mistake should not happen, and if they do, should be covered by the bank because it's a fucking bank where these mistakes shouldn't fucking happen
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This is like a stranger coming up to you and pushing an envelope in to your hands full of cash then finding you 2 weeks later and being mad you spent the cash. If somebody gives you cash, it's reasonable to assume it's for you.

It's not like getting a letter with someone else's name and opening it anyway, it's like opening a letter addressed to "the occupier".
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Everyone makes mistakes.

But... we live in a society where we are raised to think we are all gonna make it big. Hollywood teaches us that one well save the world and get the girl and be rich in the end.

So... when you accidentally give these people $120k, you have to write it off. Think of it as... you accidentally dropped a dollar bill into your hamster cage. You cant punish the hamster, he has no grasp of the matter.

Furthermore, banks usually have so many measures in place prevent this from happening. Thats why you dont hear this story too often.
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HornedLion posted...

Everyone makes mistakes.

But... we live in a society where we are raised to think we are all gonna make it big. Hollywood teaches us that one well save the world and get the girl and be rich in the end.

So... when you accidentally give these people $120k, you have to write it off. Think of it as... you accidentally dropped a dollar bill into your hamster cage. You cant punish the hamster, he has no grasp of the matter.

Furthermore, banks usually have so many measures in place prevent this from happening. Thats why you dont hear this story too often.

Wtf are you on about?
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

If somebody gives you cash, it's reasonable to assume it's for you.

If you were not expecting a $100,000 deposit into your bank account, then it very much is not reasonable to assume that it's intended for you, rather than a mistake on the bank's part. It's never reasonable to assume something that has so much precedent for not being true.

HornedLion posted...

You cant punish the hamster, he has no grasp of the matter.

Except these "hamsters" are actually sentient human beings who can absolutely be expected to have a grasp of the matter. They therefore have a responsibility to act appropriately, and immediately spending $100,000 they knew wasn't theirs is not acting appropriately.

likehelly posted...

it's a bank. these mistake should not happen, and if they do, should be covered by the bank because it's a f***ing bank where these mistakes shouldn't f***ing happen

As nice an idea as that is, mistakes are still going to happen, regardless of what safeguards are in place. If you start placing 100% of the responsibility on the bank for covering losses on this scale, that's going to result in the bank finding whatever lower-level employee was most directly responsible for the error and taking the loss out of their pay. Given that this is likely to be 2-3 years' worth of pay, that means banks won't be able to find anyone to work those positions because of the risks involved and/or will have to dramatically increase their wages to compensate, neither of which are particularly conducive to the bank being able to function.

These mistakes shouldn't happen, no, but they do, and the safeguards in place to mitigate their impact include the legal protocols for finding money like this. The only reason there's any problem at all here is because the couple decided to say "I guess this is our money now they can't catch us," instead of contacting the bank to figure out what happened. Had they followed protocol, everything would have been fine.

^If theyre trailer trash then what do you expect?

These are the same people that vote against their self interest, believe that Obama was born in Kenya, and that theres a powerful shadow government but its too weak to get Hilary elected.

They are very much hamsters. Bank fucked up. Think of it as those rednecks offered them consultation services as to how to let this happen again. Their services are worth $120k.
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_AdjI_ posted...

If you were not expecting a $100,000 deposit into your bank account, then it very much is not reasonable to assume that it's intended for you, rather than a mistake on the bank's part. It's never reasonable to assume something that has so much precedent for not being true.

Not too long ago there was an advert for a bank doing a lottery with all account holders as entrants and the top prize was 100,000.

Again, it was delivered directly to them with no marker it was for anybody else, the bank has many procedures in place to stop this happening, there's no good reason why it would be given directly to them unless it was for them.

Let's also note that it was the bank's mistake. Had they rectified the error immediately, they wouldn't have been time for the money to be spent (or at least they could claim any further usage would be charged).

The bank gave them money for free with no restrictions expressed to them, they're not at fault for the bank failing to do their job.
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_AdjI_ posted...

If you start placing 100% of the responsibility on the bank for covering losses on this scale, that's going to result in the bank finding whatever lower-level employee was most directly responsible for the error and taking the loss out of their pay.

Probably not legal, but they could fire if they want.

_AdjI_ posted...

Given that this is likely to be 2-3 years' worth of pay, that means banks won't be able to find anyone to work those positions because of the risks involved and/or will have to dramatically increase their wages to compensate, neither of which are particularly conducive to the bank being able to function.

Or it's covered under liability insurance. Mistakes happen and they can afford to take the hit, if they can't afford to make errors then they're not effective enough to operate their business. There always must be overhead to account for this and if this collapses shitty banks, all the better in a capitalistic system.

_AdjI_ posted...

Had they followed protocol, everything would have been fine.

Protocol was not defined, the bank failed. Their problem, their cost.
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If random money pops into your bank account, always consult with your bank. Someone can make that mistake and not know immediately, but spending it is a mistake you know you're making.
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

Protocol was not defined, the bank failed. Their problem, their cost.

It must feel nice to be in that world of ignorance.
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If they were smart, (they aren't) they should have opened up a high interest account and let it accumulate interest until they are told to pay it back and give back the money
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krazychao5 posted...

If they were smart, (they aren't) they should have opened up a high interest account and let it accumulate interest until they are told to pay it back and give back the money

Wouldn't actually make that much even if they got 2.5%, it would probably only be a few months, so maybe $300 a month.....might have gotten like 1k our of it that way.

It's actually interesting though that the bank can just declare "hey that is our money, we made an error" and doesn't have to go to court etc to get it back.

I guess it's obvious, kinda like being seen holding up a bank etc, but still.........I wonder if they can just "fix" an error like that legally.
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wolfy42 posted...

I guess it's obvious, kinda like being seen holding up a bank etc, but still.........I wonder if they can just "fix" an error like that legally.

They can, they will, and they have.
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Monopoly told me I get to keep my bank error money though

Ok, lets take this a different direction.

Lets say it's not federally or state illegal to spend said error money, it's JUST an internal bank matter...

Is it against their terms of service, that you have to agree to to use the bank, to report on anomalous transactions?
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wwinterj25 posted...

It's theft sure but I mean it was the banks mistake. I'm torn on this one but leaning more towards saying they shouldn't have to pay it back or get into trouble for someones mistake.

Fuck that. They knew it was a mistake and went out and blew it immediately cause they knew eventually it would probably be discovered.

They're thieves, dumb ones at that
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

Not too long ago there was an advert for a bank doing a lottery with all account holders as entrants and the top prize was 100,000.

Presumably, this was not advertised as such a lottery, and even in that case, the winner would be notified beyond just depositing the money in their account without saying anything. That kind of money doesn't change hands without somebody saying something, outside of some kind of terrible mistake.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Again, it was delivered directly to them with no marker it was for anybody else, the bank has many procedures in place to stop this happening, there's no good reason why it would be given directly to them unless it was for them.

Except the possibility that it was a mistake, which is a whole lot more likely and has a whole lot more precedent backing it up than that the couple was randomly given $100,000 for free.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Or it's covered under liability insurance.

Driving up operating costs. It's an option, certainly, but when they have the law to back them up, why would they spend extra money on insurance?

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Protocol was not defined,

https://www.mystatecollegelawyer.com/2015/01/finders-keepers-losers-weepers-not-so-in-pennsylvania/

18 Pa.C.S. 3924, titled Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property, states that it is a crime to take control of property that a person knows has been lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake if the person does not take reasonable measures to return the property to the lawful owner.

Sure, that doesn't define the specific protocol for "[taking] reasonable measures to return the property," but most (including the salient courts in this case) would agree that it includes calling the bank to ask what happened and why they'd been given the money before spending it all.
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