Couple Caught Up in $10.5 Million Crypto Mistake

So this couple got themselves into quite a mess. Thevamanogari Manivel and her partner Jatinder Singh ended up with $10.5 million that wasn't theirs. Oops. They spent it. Then faced charges.

The whole thing started back in May 2021. Singh tried to put $100 into an account using Manivel's bank details. Someone messed up. Big time. An employee entered numbers wrong in Excel. Instead of getting a $100 refund, Manivel got $10.47 million dropped into her account. Just like that.

Finding Out

The company didn't notice for months. December 2021, to be exact. By then? Money gone. The couple bought stuff. Four houses worth about $4 million. Cars. Art. Furniture. They were generous too - gave a friend $1 million. Singh later claimed he thought they'd won some contest online. Kind of surprising he didn't question such incredible luck.

Caught

Commonwealth Bank eventually contacted Manivel. Told her to return the money. She thought it was fake news, apparently. Transferred $4 million to Malaysia instead. Not the best move, it seems. In March 2022, she tried boarding a one-way flight to Malaysia. Had $11,000 cash on her. Authorities stopped her right there at Melbourne airport.

In Court

Singh admitted guilt. Theft of $6.09 million. His lawyers said he didn't really get how serious it was. Manivel, who'd moved from Malaysia to Australia in 2015, spent 209 days locked up before sentencing.

The End Result

Most money spent in Australia got recovered. The $4 million sent to Malaysia? Still missing. Manivel's sentence was the 209 days she'd already spent behind bars, plus an 18-month community corrections order. Judge Martine Marich noted the money had been recovered and that nothing truly sinister was proven - at least until Manivel learned about the error from the bank.

This whole saga shows what can happen when unexpected cash lands in your lap. Not yours? Don't spend it. Not entirely clear why that's so hard to understand.