911 Dispatcher Arrested For Keeping $1.2M Mistakenly Put to Her Account to Buy Car, House

A 911 dispatcher from Louisiana was arrested after she allegedly refused to return the $1.2 million that was mistakenly deposited into her brokerage account in February.

She was charged with theft after Charles Schwab & Co. accidentally deposited the money in Kelyn Spadoni's account. According to Crime Online, Spadoni moved the money to another account and used some of it to buy herself a 2021 Hyundai Genesis sport utility and a house.

Kelyn Spadoni, 33, reportedly lost her 911 dispatching job with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office because of the charge filed against her.

The Case Against Kelyn Spadoni

Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson, said that it is not Spadoni's money despite being deposited into her account, Nola reported.

"She has no legal claim to that money. Even if it was put in there by mistake. It was an accounting error," Rivarde said in the report.

Spadoni was said to have opened an account with Charles Schwab & Co. in January. The financial services installed an enhancement to software in January, which manages transferring funds.

In late February, the company accidentally transfer $1,205,619 instead of $82.56 into a Fidelity Brokerage Services account owned by Spadoni.

The financial service then tried to reclaim the amount. However, police said the request was rejected as Kelyn Spadoni already transferred the $1.2 million into another account.

Charles Schwab & Co. filed a lawsuit against Kelyn Spadoni on Tuesday in federal court. The company said they have tried to contact the former 911 dispatcher several times regarding the matter, but she allegedly ignored the phone calls, emails, and text messages at the time.

Rivarde noted that about 75 percent of the money has already been recovered, WFTV reported. The company said that Spadoni's account contract with them includes an agreement that the client is mandated to return the full amount if a client receives an overpayment.

"If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they would want that money returned or credited to them," Rivarde said, adding that that situation is no different from Spadoni.

He noted that Kelyn Spadoni had been a 911 dispatcher for four and a half years. Spadoni's bond was set at $50,000 on Thursday. However, it is not yet known if she remains in police custody.

What Happens on Accidental Deposits

If false deposits are made involving your account, the bank will take the money back and put it in the correct amount.

Also, it does not have to request permission to do or notify the owner of the account that they will be removing the erroneously deposited funds, according to The Balance report. Aside from that, one can be held liable if they spent any of the wrongly deposited money into their account.

The owner could be charged with theft, just like what happened to Spadoni, after she bought a car and a house with the wrongly deposited money.

Banks have 10 business days to prove the issue. It can last up to 20 business days if a person's account has been active for less than a month.

If banks fail to complete their investigation within the said period, they should credit your account for the missing deposit amount.

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