Man Charged For Spending Money Deposited Into Account

A Nebraska man has been charged with felony theft after he spent $80,000 his bank deposited by mistake in his account.

The 45-year-old man, George J. Costa, is charged with theft of lost or mislaid property, saying it is a crime to take money that's been "delivered under a mistake".

More than $106,000 was deposited into Costa's account over a period of six months after a Pinnacle Bank employee mixed up account numbers.

But the bank says Costa spent nearly $80,000, before they were able to get it back. The bank says it has only been able to recover $26,000 from Costa's account after the mistake was noticed.

"'Finder's keepers' and 'possession is nine-tenths of the law' aren't legal principles", said the bank's lawyer.

While Costa's lawyer says he is willing to work out repayment in civil court but shouldn't be charged criminally. "If somebody sticks money in your pocket and you spend it, you can't be convicted of theft", he argues.

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