Aussie scam artist rides bank computer glitch to $9m overdraft
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Posted in Crime, 31st August 2007 23:30 GMT
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After a computer glitch allowed him to overdraw almost $9m from his bank account, an Australian man has refused to return the pilfered funds, arguing that he will soon be dead.
Between June 2005 and January 2006, Victor Ollis wrote check after check for money he didn't really have, scamming the Westpac bank out of AU$11m, Macquarie National News reports.
It took Westpac three years to notice the computer SNAFU, but a judge has now ordered the Australian real estate agent to return the money - plus AU$4.6m in interest.
That means Ollis owes more than 12 million American dollars, but he's told the bank it won't receive a red cent. He'd rather die first. Ollis claims that he has only two years to live, thanks to a "debilitating disease".
He may be onto something. Even if he doesn't die after two years, several more years may pass before Westpac notices he's still alive. ®
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