Couple On the Run After 'Stealing' $6 Million

digitalfever writes "A couple from New Zealand are being hunted down by Interpol after a banking error saw their account mistakenly credited with NZ $10 million (£3.8m/$6m). However, instead of notifying the bank of their new-found wealth, they simply took the money and ran."

Comments

well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this really a surprise? I know I would.

Re:well, duh.

[Tensor]

that makes two of us.

Re:well, duh.

[Merls the Sneaky]

Hope you have plans to make that money last the rest of your life. There was a survivor of a big hiest, a few years ago he ended up having to face the music after running out of cash and was forced to spend his last days in gaol. He had some terminal illness, so it was a short time. I wish I could remeber the details. I believe he had 36 million pounds or something. Six million isn't going to last long without careful investment and accounting.

Re:well, duh.

[cattrain]

The average american income is only $45,421.68 according to Wolfram. At $100,000 a year, 6 million would last 60 years. As long as you take up a normal life, and don't blow your money, you shouldn't have to ever work again. I would probably want to invest some, or get a decent job to pay for other stuff so that I wouldn't have to go over my $100,000 a year limit though.

Re:well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not that he ran out of cash, he just wanted to go back home to England for proper fish and chips. Sometimes you just miss that one special place we call 192.168.0.1.

Re:well, duh.

[Metapsyborg]

Good for them, hopefully they don't get caught.

Living on 6 million dollars for an entire life would be easy. Especially since they will probably have to go to a country with a weaker economy, like one in South America or Asia. Welcome to the rest of your life on a tropical beach, with anything you'd ever want to buy.

Re:well, duh.

[amiga3D]

Exactly! I'd buy a modest sailboat, say about a 35 foot sloop rig. I could spend years Island hopping.

Re:well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

127.0.0.1

Re:well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sometimes you just miss that one special place we call 192.168.0.1.

DMZ??

Re:well, duh.

[Kokuyo]

*points* there's the exit, please hand in your geek membership card and the free t-shirt before you leave.

Re:well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

yup, once you have bought your own home (assuming it doesn't have big maintenance charges and bills etc) it doesn't cost that much to live comfortably. Unless you party with hookers lots. Or need to pay your own medical bills if you are sick or injured.

Re:well, duh.

[oldspewey]

I'd be careful of that sailboat idea. $6M will get used up pretty quick meeting ransom demands from pirates.

Re:well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, but in 60 years what will that 100,000 buy you? A hamburger? With inflation, that 6 million would last more like 15-20 years. And I am sure glad I don't get that "average American income" - shoot, I'd have to SHARE an apartment on that.

Couple what about the Governmetn?

[hackus]

Why is this such a big story when the biggest heist in history was just executed by the Federal Reserve on the citizens of the USA?

That is far more interesting because the Federal Reserve got congress to approve the legality of the criminal activity before it was executed.

In fact by all accounts the Federal Reserve stole 10 Trillion dollars!

Why are we worrying about 6 MIllion?

-Hack

How theyve treated me

[Joebert]

I would report it if the bank had been understanding when I screw up in the past.

But if they'd ever made me pay a $30 fee because of a $1 or less mistake on my behalf you better believe I'd take as much of that money as I could and run.

The amount is irrelevant.

Go on, take the money and run

[masmullin]

This is the story about billy joe and bobbie sue
Two young lovers with nothin better to do
They'd sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube
And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose<br>

They headed down to, ooh, old el paso
Thats where they ran into a great big hassle
Billy joe shot a man while robbing his castle
Bobbie sue took the money and run<br>

Go on take the money and run<br>

Billy mack is a detective down in texas
You know he knows just exactly what the facts is
He aint gonna let those two escape justice
He makes his livin off of the peoples taxes<br>

Bobbie sue, whoa, whoa, she slipped away
Billy joe caught up to her the very next day
They got the money, hey
You know they got away
They headed down south and theyre still running today
Singin go on take the money and run<br>

Only mistake....

[Roskolnikov]

If you intend to keep the gains from a mistake, don't take the money and run, transfer the money to an account they can't access, hire a lawyer offer him 1/3 on success, hope for the best.

Running only makes you look like your trying to get away with something, what I am curious about is how they managed to withdraw and transfer to a bank that would protect them, or if they
pulled cash how they managed to travel with it.

On a side note, if were a customer to this bank, I would certainly not be so for long, if they're able to make mistakes of this magnitude its not if they fail, its when.