Thanks to WFLA for this:
A Florida woman is making national news after an apparent bank error in her favor.
WFLA reports Julia Yonkowski went to the ATM at a local Chase Bank in Largo, Fla., on Saturday to withdraw some money, but decided to check her bank balance first.
She only planned to take $20 out, but she was shocked when the receipt showed she had nearly $1 billion in her account, or $999,985,855.94.
“Oh my God, I was horrified. I know most people would think they won the lottery, but I was horrified,” she said.
Yonkowski said that she still tried to withdraw $20, but the machine warned her it would cause an overdraft fee so she opted not to touch her account.
“I know I’ve read stories about people that took the money or took out money, and then they had to repay it, and I wouldn’t do that anyway because it’s not my money,” she told WFLA.
She’s right to be cautious. A Pennsylvania couple was arrested in 2019 for spending $120,000 that was accidentally transferred into their BB&T bank account because of a teller error, and a Louisiana woman was arrested last year for refusing to return $1.2 million that was accidentally deposited into her bank account.
Yonkowski said that she tried contacting Chase Bank multiple times over the weekend, but couldn’t get to a person through the bank’s automated system. She planned to visit the bank in person Monday to clear everything up.
