She got $1.2 million by mistake — then bought a car and a house, Louisiana cops say
A Louisiana woman who was supposed to get $82.56 instead received $1.2 million by mistake — and refused to give it back, officials said.
Instead, 33-year-old Kelyn Spadoni used some of that money to buy a new car and house, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
Spadoni, a Harvey resident, was fired from her job as a 911 dispatcher after she was accused of theft, bank fraud and “illegal transmission of monetary funds” in connection with the case, nola.com reported Friday.
No attorney information was listed for Spadoni.
Spadoni had opened an account with Charles Schwab before a software upgrade led the financial company to transfer her much more money than it intended in February, according to federal court documents.
The company said it was supposed to give Spadoni $82.56 but ended up putting more than $1.2 million in her Fidelity account.
But when Charles Schwab tried to tell the 33-year-old about the error, she ignored calls and emails, the court documents say.
The company in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accused Spadoni of not giving the money back even though she had signed a document agreeing that she was required to return overpayments.
Fidelity reportedly told Charles Schwab that it couldn’t pay back the extra money because it wasn’t available.
Spadoni is accused of moving some of the money she received to another account and spending it on a new car and house.
“By her conduct, Spadoni has made it clear she does not intend to return the mistakenly transferred funds to Schwab,” the lawsuit said. “By removing the funds from her Fidelity Account and/or by investing it in other assets, Spadoni intentionally has inhibited Schwab’s ability to reclaim the mistakenly transferred funds.”
Investigators recovered “almost all” of the money that was given to Spadoni by accident, said Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesperson for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Spadoni was arrested Wednesday and taken to the Jefferson Parish jail, just outside of New Orleans, officials said.
This story was originally published April 11, 2021 at 9:44 AM with the headline "She got $1.2 million by mistake — then bought a car and a house, Louisiana cops say."
