WHEN a fortune landed unexpectedly in a man’s bank account he couldn’t believe his luck.
Abdel Ghadia was astounded when he discovered the £420,000 and couldn’t miss the opportunity to go on a wild spending spree.
The 24-year-old has now been jailed after he splashed his cash on gold bars, make-up and designer clothes.
The money that landed in his account was accidentally transferred by a couple wanting to buy a house.
He told police in Australia he “just woke up and saw the money” and “wanted to give gold to someone I loved”, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reports.
At the time he was taking home £2,600 a month working in a warehouse.
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Tara Thorne and Corey Brooks lost their life savings after hackers posing as their broker used fake emails to get them to send their deposit to Ghadia’s account.
A couple were in the final steps of buying their dream home on the city’s northern beaches when they were told to transfer £420,000.
Ghadia did not have a hand in the initial scam and is the only person charged in relation to the incident.
Passing sentence Magistrate Richard Funston said Ghadia “couldn’t wash his hands and be done with it”.
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Thought he wasn’t involved in the initial scam he “enthusiastically” spent the couple’s money.
“He might not have been the mastermind but he knew what he was doing,” he said.
“There was a concerted effort to dispose of the funds, which will be night on impossible to ever recover.”
In a statement to the court, the victims said the scam has “devastated us and our family”.
They have been left in a mountain of debt and no savings while relatives, who had helped loan money for the house, were also out of pocket.
“The ordeal feels unbearable at times, and I have significant feelings of despair and stress,” Mr Brooks said.
“It’s left us with wounds – I could work well into my 90s and never reclaim the money we lost.”
Ghadia, who pleaded guilty, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for two counts of dealing with the property proceeds of crime.
Under UK law, you’re not allowed to spend any of the cash if you have an unexpected windfall.
In fact, if money is transferred into your account unexpectedly and you use it, you could be charged with ‘retaining wrongful credit’ under the Theft Act 1968.
You could even get in trouble for just leaving it there if you know it shouldn’t be in your account.
Instead, you’re expected to take steps reasonable steps to cancel the transfer or return it.
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It comes as a woman who noticed an extra £40,000 in her bank account had no idea where it came from but still got to keep the cash.
It turned out the money had been wired to her by mistake – but she was still able to keep the money and go on a shopping spree.
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Olivia Allhusen
