Should You Punish Greed and Stupidity?
According to Reuters:
A New York man who discovered that millions of dollars had mysteriously appeared in his bank account, and withdrew more than $2 million, has been arrested on charges of grand larceny, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Benjamin Lovell, 48, pleaded innocent on Tuesday to charges that he withdrew money from a Commerce Bank account that had been opened by someone with the same name, prosecutors said.Lovell had just $800 in his own Commerce Bank account when he went to make a deposit, but a teller, mistaking the Woodlawn account for Lovell’s personal account, told him that his account contained more than $5 million, prosecutors said.
Lovell made multiple withdrawals even though he knew that the money was not his, prosecutors said. He used the money to buy jewelry for his girlfriend and to make several investments, they said.
Lovell is being held on $3 million bail. He faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted, prosecutors said.
If a 48 year old guy only has $800 in his bank account, he’s obviously thinking this is a sign from God. If he’s not going to withdraw and spend it, what else is he going to do? (Apart from the honest thing of informing the bank manager that the money isn’t his?)
But seriously, I think 25 years is too harsh a penalty for this. It’s obviously the bank’s error. He is definitely wrong for spending it, but if I had only $800 to my name and had the chance to make $5 million, I’m pretty sure I’d be tempted to do the wrong thing, even if I knew I might burn in hell for it. He had to have known that he was going to get caught. $5 million doesn’t just disappear without someone realizing its missing.
What would you do if you were in Benjamin’s position? What is a good punishment for greed and stupidity?
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February 21st, 2008 at 11:20 am
I would have ditched the girlfriend and gone to Mexico with the money
February 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I don’t know if he knew he’d get caught. If the bank was dumb enough to make the mistake, there’d probably be no proof of who they actually gave the money to (minus hidden cameras and logic). It is the bank’s fault here….
In smaller terms, if you are at a store and you pay for a piece of chewing gum with $20 and you get $25 back in change, do you tell the cashier or do you pocket the extra $5? It’s kind of the same thing, just on a larger scale.
25 years is way too much. If anything, the person at the bank who made the mistake should get the jail time!
February 21st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I agree completely – what the guy did was wrong, but I don’t feel he should go to jail for it. It was 100% the bank’s error, and they should be held liable for it. If they are able to recover the money from this man, then great. If not, then they should foot the bill.
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:11 am
First of all, what kind of prehistoric systems are these banks running? In Canada, when I go to my bank, I have to swipe my bank card and enter my PIN before I’m allowed to do any kind of transaction. Then, if I want to withdraw a larger amount (more than $500) of money in cash, I have to show photo ID. This should be the minimum standard every bank should use and they wouldn’t have these kinds of things happening.
I read once that some guy in Vegas found a change machine in a casino that was spitting out $20 bills when giving out $5 bills. Of course, he took advantage of the situation and walked out with tens of thousands in profits. I mean, the guy’s in Vegas for god’s sake! Plus, it’s not his fault the change machine was busted. Unfortunately, since he was in a casino, due to their ridiculous surveillance, he was quickly caught and subsequently charged.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 am
25 years is outrageous. Make him pay back what he spent + interest and fine him his life savings (all $800 of it)
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 am
I hate to be a party pooper, but, honestly, some of you guys comments blow me away. He knowingly, and intentionally defrauded and STOLE the money. All he had to do was point out the error. Why shouldn’t he go to jail? Why is there sympathy because no one was hurt, and cries that it’s the ‘bank’s fault’? Gimme a break. Guess who pays for these mistakes, people like you and I with higher fees and charges. All other things aside, it is simply wrong, morally and legally. Sometimes I wonder about integrity issues with people today. I was always taught that if your honest your whole life you will be rewarded. I don’t mean to sound harsh but come on guys he broke the law.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:45 am
I think he deserves what is coming to him. I think what he did is stealing no different than me coming to your house and stealing money from you. The fact that there was honest mistake from the bank does not justify what he did.
And I can’t believe how lax our attitudes about these things. I am surprised to the sympathy he is getting from you.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
While I admit it was unethical and dishonest, what law did he break?
if someone puts a $20 note in your pocket when you’re not looking “by mistake”, is it illegal to spend it, even if you know you didn’t put it there and its not your money?
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
On the real, banks and bill collectors over charge every day. I do not remember getting a phone bill in the last few years that was correct. Banks charge fees every single day for things that they shouldn’t. Do they go to jail, or get punished? Half the time they do not even fix the problem. You have to spend 6 hours on the phone to get $30 back that was yours.
Sure this guy would have a clearer conscious if he had let the teller know. Integrity is great, but not realistic. Life isn’t fair. I have seen other people (NOT ME) get checks from the IRS for credits. They know nothing about the credits. Should they not cash the checks? Should they raise red flags to the IRS?
If this money was in his account, no bubbles not troubles, banks fault. If he withdrew it from another persons account knowingly but without intent, a year probation. If he was a scumbag that did this repeatedly at multiple banks falsifying documents as a hobby, then 2 years is a good penalty. 25 years is too long. Most armed robbers don’t get this long…
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 am
Sami,
there is a big difference.
the difference is someone leaving their belongs at YOUR house and then complaining after you sold their stuff for a profit.
he didn’t steal the money from someone else’s account. the bank put it there.
funny how no one’s complaining about the $150 million dollars Manzillo STOLE from countrywide shareholders through his CNBC propaganda, but people are pissed off that some poor schmuck spent $2 million bucks!
I think you guys are just jealous that you didn’t get the money
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
While I agree the guy deserves punishment, 25 years is far too harsh. Murderers, rapists and arsonists don’t always get sentences that large. How can you put a man with little money who had a lapse of judgment and let his greed get the better of him in the same category as those types of criminals?
6 months in prison, plus some community service at the max. Less if he can fully pay the money back.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:53 am
i agree 25 years is crazy. but let me ask this: they both made an error, whether it was honest or dishonest. he is punished for his error. is the bank punished??
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
If he had taken out small amounts over time, he would have probably never been caught.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:19 am
it is actually against the law and what he did by law is criminal. I was involved with similar incident with an employee who got a pay deposit that was not hers and she refused to give it back because it was a “my error and not hers” after I investigated and consulted with out lawyer it turns what she did, and similar to the guy in the post, is against the law. As a result I pressed charges and very quickly the money was returned to us.
Any ways I do not like this kind of behaviour and more importantly I do not like justifying it and excusing it either, because I was on the other side of it and I know how it feels. It is plain stealing and there is no question about it.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:15 am
The guy was greedy and should be punished but 25 years and 3 million for bail is a bit much. But both parties are at fault here not just the guy who took money out of the account.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I wonder if it would’ve been illegal if he transferred the funds into his savings and made withdrawals on the interest earned… the interest on 5 mil still would’ve been a nice chunk of change!
February 25th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
if I dropped my friend’s wallet with 5 million dollars in it and someone found it and didn’t want to give the money back, it’s my fault.
if I misplaced 5 million dollars of customer’s money in a bank and someone took it and didn’t want to give it back. it still is my fault.
solution: don’t drop your wallet or misplace any money!
March 25th, 2008 at 7:45 am
If I leave my friends open top Lamborgini in the street with the keys in the ignition and someone takes it didn’t want to give it back, it’s stealing. When they were tracked down you would get it back and they would get sent down for grand theft auto. What’s the difference with $5m? Same situation, different item of value.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:37 am
ARLO IS RIGHT. ADD 6 months in jail for SPENDING MONEY that you KNOW doesn’t belong to YOU.
#
Arlo Says:
February 25th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
if I dropped my friend’s wallet with 5 million dollars in it and someone found it and didn’t want to give the money back, it’s my fault.
if I misplaced 5 million dollars of customer’s money in a bank and someone took it and didn’t want to give it back. it still is my fault.
solution: don’t drop your wallet or misplace any money!