Mysteriously ended up with millions? You can run, but you can't hide.
Being mysteriously transferred millions of dollars sounds great, until you learn you can't keep it.
Perhaps there's a loaded great-aunt from Slovakia and you're the only heir? Maybe a billionaire accidentally transferred their pocket money to you, instead of a dubious offshore bank account?
SEE ALSO: 'Hamilton' scalpers pocket $240,000 every week. Here's how they get away with it.
Unfortunately, it is more likely that it is a bank's mistake and authorities will chase you down for it, no matter where you run.
Take a 21-year-old woman from Sydney, Australia, who was stopped by Australian Federal Police at the city's international airport Wednesday evening, who was boarding a flight to Malaysia.
Police allege the woman was wrongly transferred A$4.6 million (US$3.44 million) to her bank account when she was just a teenager in 2012, and she had failed to return it. A warrant for her arrest was issued in March, following an investigation by Australian police in the state of New South Wales.
She was handed over to police and charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime. In other words, they allege she has been having a pretty sweet four years.
However, a judge said Thursday she may have not broken the law, according to Fairfax Media. Westpac Bank gave her an unlimited overdraw facility, which she used to a total of A$4.6 million on handbags, luxury items and transfers.
"She didn't take it from them. They gave it to her," magistrate Lisa Stapleton said, which would mean that she would just need to pay it back — but the spending of it may not be illegal.
In Australia, one usually applies for an overdraft, which is capped by a bank, and the interest rate is often less expensive than that of a personal loan or credit card charge.
A similar New Zealand case didn't end so well, which saw a man jailed for four years and seven months after he was mistakenly given a NZ$10 million (US$6.8 million) bank overdraft.
Hui "Leo" Gao spent two years on the run with his girlfriend after getting the accidental cash injection in 2009, according to the BBC.
Gao was extradited to New Zealand in December 2011 where he then pled guilty to seven charges of theft in May 2012, telling the court at the time that he was unable to pay back the money.
The mistake occurred when he applied for a NZ$100,000 (US$68,895) overdraft to help with his struggling garage, with the bank transferring him millions instead, according to the publication.
By the time the bank found out about the error, police said Gao and his girlfriend had transferred half the money overseas and left for Hong Kong — where they allegedly went on a gambling spree.
You might be able to run with millions of dollars, but it won't be for long.
