Liverpool FC Forum

[Effes]

New Zealand couple flee after finding £4m in their bank account

• Pair flee Bay of Plenty with massive overpayment
• Interpol fears they may be in China or South Korea


It might be time to end our cynicism towards cheery slogans peddled by the world's commercial banks. A couple from New Zealand, for example, now have every reason to believe their local bank's motto: making the most of life.

The pair, named in media reports as Leo Gao and Cara Young, could hardly believe their luck when they checked their account at Westpac bank on 5 May, hoping to find their request for a NZ$10,900 (£4,000) overdraft had been accepted.

Instead, the bank had deposited 1,000 times that amount: NZ$10m, or around £4m. With so many borrowers around the world constantly being told "no" by their creditors, here, finally, was a bank that liked to say "yes".

Last night the accidental millionaires from Rotorua, a tourist city on the north island overlooking, appropriately enough, the Bay of Plenty, are on an Interpol wanted list after fleeing with the bulk of their windfall two weeks ago.

While their whereabouts remains a mystery, local reports speculated they may have fled to China or South Korea after transferring as much as NZ$6m to an offshore account.

The local newspaper, the Rotorua Review, said a police official had been sent to China to search for the couple.

Police said they were treating the case as theft but offered only sketchy details. "We are currently conducting an investigation into the individuals that may have been involved in the withdrawal of the money," detective David Harvey told reporters in Rotorua, which until now was known mainly for its geysers and mud pools.

"The individuals associated with this account are believed to have left New Zealand and police were working through Interpol to locate those individuals," he said, adding that the bank had recovered some of the cash, thought to be about NZ$4m.

Westpac, an Australian bank with 10 million customers, said the overpayment had been the result of human error and it was "pursuing vigorous criminal and civil action" to recover the money.

Gao and Young, who ran a BP petrol station on the outskirts of the city, had reportedly been struggling financially for several months. The station was closed on 6 May and the couple vanished the following day. Twenty-four hours later, their business was put into receivership.

Though Gao and Young hardly qualify as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde – they are thought to be armed with little more than a change of clothes, passports and an ATM card – the unlikely fugitives have become the topic du jour among Rotorua's 55,000 residents.

Neighbours described Gao as a "really nice guy" who lived with his mother and brothers, and Young and her daughter Lena, all of whom have vanished. "We thought he was pretty honest, but it turns out he's not," the manager of the neighbourhood's off-licence told 3 News. The saga has hurled New Zealanders into the kind of moral maze that Gao and Young appeared to have spent just a few seconds navigating before deciding to skirt around it altogether.

Given the battering the banking industry has taken over the past year, many admitted that, if gifted with a similar sum, they would rather live as wealthy fugitives than remain out of pocket but with a clear conscience.

"Best of luck to them," wrote one browser on the 3 News website. "The banks are as honest as the power companies."

But another was horrified by the level of support for the couple: "I can't believe the number of people that say they would keep the money. These people have taken money that wasn't theirs, no matter which way you look at it."

Experts do not expect it will take investigators long to catch up with the couple; the only question is how much they can splurge before they are found.

In a case in the US last year, a Pennsylvania couple quit their jobs and fled the state after withdrawing $175,000 (£110,000) that had mistakenly been credited to their account. They were arrested in Florida.
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If I didn't have a daughter to look after I'd be very tempted.
I hope they never get caught.

[tubby]

Ha ha nice story. Would make a good film. lol

[JoeTerp]

i don't understand why that is a crime. They only took out money that was in their account. If you are wrongly awarded a penalty kick are you supposed to tell the referee that you don't deserve it and refuse to take it?  I don't understand why they are so so confident of catching these people.  They could have bought a yacht and have sailed to anywhere, and could  be living off of untraceable cash payments.

[bigmick]

It's a classic story and of course is all over the papers here Yhey've done the inevitable "what would you do?" on th news, stopping people in the streets and the like. Cue a succession of ultra conservative Nigels frowning profusely "well of course I'd give it back, would be tempting and all that but" chortle chortle. They asked one ex pat (fella was a northerner) and he said 'I'd be off pal, gone, whoosh" 

Good on em, feck the banks. When they do eventually get cauight, what's gonna happen? Feck all in real terms, go for your life that's what I say.

[laza]

I just tell the banks its  a penalty fee for a incorrect depoist

They been ripping us off for years, nice to see shoe on other foot

[andy_g]

of course, my first instinct is to go 'yeah, too right i'd take it and run'. but then imagine living the rest of your life as a fugitive with about 2.5 million quid, your wife and nothing else. you have to go somewhere where you know nobody and nobody knows you and you are always going to be wondering who it is knocking on the door. i'm sure they're going to have a blast for the first few months or the first year - if they don't get caught in that time - but how soon before they are beginning to regret it.

morally i have no problem at all, the best of luck to them. i'm just not sure how much fun its going to be for them when the dust settles.

[mistyred]

I'd move to an island in the Pacific with Kate and kill Jack and Sowyer

[stmichael]

It's a classic story and of course is all over the papers here Yhey've done the inevitable "what would you do?" on th news, stopping people in the streets and the like. Cue a succession of ultra conservative Nigels frowning profusely "well of course I'd give it back, would be tempting and all that but" chortle chortle. They asked one ex pat (fella was a northerner) and he said 'I'd be off pal, gone, whoosh" 

Good on em, feck the banks. When they do eventually get cauight, what's gonna happen? Feck all in real terms, go for your life that's what I say.

It's you isn't it?

[bigmick]

It's a classic story and of course is all over the papers here Yhey've done the inevitable "what would you do?" on th news, stopping people in the streets and the like. Cue a succession of ultra conservative Nigels frowning profusely "well of course I'd give it back, would be tempting and all that but" chortle chortle. They asked one ex pat (fella was a northerner) and he said 'I'd be off pal, gone, whoosh" 

Good on em, feck the banks. When they do eventually get cauight, what's gonna happen? Feck all in real terms, go for your life that's what I say.

It's you isn't it?

I wish Mick  I'd get caught obviously, but I reckon me and the Mrs would go through the loot pretty sharpish. At the rate my Sarah spends, they'd have about three weeks to catch up with us, after that there'd be just about enough left for a Big Mac meal  .

[Effes]

I heard on the radio tonight that, it's supsected they legged it from Hong Kong to Beijing now.

Apparently the wife phoned her Mum and said it was his idea, and she could throttle him.

Sounds like she's already thinking about the inevitable court case!
If she's that disgruntled, why doesn't she feck off back home?

[maypaxvobiscum]

women......

anyway id run. first thing id do is buy a new mobile, i lost mine hours ago =(

[RedShredder]

i don't understand why that is a crime. They only took out money that was in their account. If you are wrongly awarded a penalty kick are you supposed to tell the referee that you don't deserve it and refuse to take it?  I don't understand why they are so so confident of catching these people.  They could have bought a yacht and have sailed to anywhere, and could  be living off of untraceable cash payments.

It is a crime because it is not their money.

Depending on nationality and/or state, someone leaving a bag full of money on someone elses lawn doesn't mean the person whose lawn it is on...owns that money.

I wouldn't call the payments untraceable either as I suspect it won't be too difficult to find if they spend large amounts from their own accounts.

[dafurf]

That much money could buy you a new ID and new passport.

[JoeTerp]

i don't understand why that is a crime. They only took out money that was in their account. If you are wrongly awarded a penalty kick are you supposed to tell the referee that you don't deserve it and refuse to take it?  I don't understand why they are so so confident of catching these people.  They could have bought a yacht and have sailed to anywhere, and could  be living off of untraceable cash payments.

It is a crime because it is not their money.

Depending on nationality and/or state, someone leaving a bag full of money on someone elses lawn doesn't mean the person whose lawn it is on...owns that money.

I wouldn't call the payments untraceable either as I suspect it won't be too difficult to find if they spend large amounts from their own accounts.

if they were able to get to that offshore account before it was frozen or something like that, then they could have gone completely liquid and lived off of cash, or try and create a new identity (or two) and then put some of the money in those accounts.

[RedShredder]

if they were able to get to that offshore account before it was frozen or something like that, then they could have gone completely liquid and lived off of cash, or try and create a new identity (or two) and then put some of the money in those accounts.

Even if they did such a thing, there are too many questions that need to be answered for any of this to get sorted out.

What country did they deposit the money in?
What are their country's international laws?
Do both countries have any sort of agreement for financial disagreements?

And many more......

I have dealt with several such transactions in the past (I do Tax Work in the States) and there are still many options to attack this persons accounts even if they don't have direct access.

It used to be as simple as putting it in the offshore accounts but in today's world, it really isn't.

Heck, I am not even bringing up the illegal yet possible ways to get it