A BANKING glitch saw one man go on a million-dollar spending spree and walk free after cops found out.
Luke Brett Moore from Australia was an unemployed 22-year-old forklift driver when his bank, St George, accidentally gave him unlimited credit in 2010.
FacebookLuke Brett Moore lived it up after a bank glitch saw him get an unlimited line of credit and splurge $1.3 million in two years[/caption]
FacebookA legal loophole meant that Moore was able to walk free[/caption]
By the time the authorities realized what had happened, Moore had taken around $2million AUD ($1.3million USD) and splurged it on cars, drugs and women.
“All that happened was my home loan, my internet, my health insurance and things like that were automatically coming out of the everyday banking account that I used,” Moore told CBC.
“Then, for some reason or another, my pay started going into another account but all my direct debits kept coming out of the account, even though there was no money in it.
“I sort of just took a gamble really one day…I rang up a home loan company and asked them if they could, instead of direct debiting my usual $500 a fortnight, if they could debit $5000.
“That’s when it all sort of started — me being able to access this enormous line of credit.”
Moore called the overnight lifestyle change “incredible” noting that first, he bought a new car, followed by new clothes and attending many parties.
Gradually, things became more and more extravagant with a year-long holiday at the Gold Coast, four new cars including an Aston Martin DB7, and a seven-meter fishing boat.
“I had a Maserati, I went on two holidays to Thailand, both for about two months each. It was crazy,” he said.
“The first time I was with someone and the didn’t really know what was happening or where my money was came from. (sic)
“They just said to me, ‘I’ve never met anyone who has spent money like you.’”
While speaking to CBS, Moore even bragged about all of his celebrity memorabilia and classic high-end paintings.
“When the police raided my house it was described as an Aladdin’s cave of treasures,” he said.
The entire time during the splurge, Moore was under the impression that at some point the bank would send him a letter or call him up.
Two years later on December 12, 2012, Moore woke up to a knock at the window of his bedroom and was charged with fraud for obtaining money by deception and dealing with the proceeds of crime, he told CBC.
He was found guilty in 2015 of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Moore was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of four years and six months, and three years with a non-parole period of two years and three months.
Despite a jury finding him guilty, an appeal saw a court rule that there was no evidence of a crime being committed.
“For the prosecution to prove that I had obtained money by deception they had to prove that I wasn’t authorized to do what I did on the account,” Moore explained.
“By looking at the terms of conditions of the account that I had in place with the bank, it clearly said that I was authorized to direct debit and overdraw your account.”
While his actions were ruled as dishonest and bad judgment, the judge concluded that it was not criminal.
Moore spent just six months in prison during the appeal and bail process.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
