Thanks to a glitch in the bank systems, Australian Luke Moore was able to get $1.3 million. The money enabled him to travel luxuriously, buy several sports cars and have fun with strippers over two years.
Tech Times reported that Moore's story started in 2010 when Moore was broke. The then law student opened a bank account at the St. George Bank. He chose what they called the Complete Freedom Account because it had a feature against overdrafting. When he realized that he was not getting notification from the bank after having reached $9,000 in overdrafts, he started putting the money in other bank accounts.
Realizing his new-found financial bonanza, the New York Times reported that Moore started to live his dream of being the "ultimate bachelor". He took trips around the world, bought a Maserati, an Aston Martin and a boat. He also spent much on strippers and cocaine. He also made sure to settle his financial obligations with the school, his mortgage and his bills. By the time St. George Bank realized the glitch, Moore had already spent $1.3 million.
As expected, St. George Bank took Moore to court with charges of acquiring financial advantage through deception and for dealing with the proceeds of crime. He was sentenced to four years in prison. Later, he was set free after winning the appeal in this ruling on the grounds that he wasn't using deception. He had argued that the bank did not try to stop him in the two years in question and that he did not attempt to mislead St. George Bank. All in all, he had only spent five months in jail.
After gaining his freedom, Moore is back to being broke and is studying to be a lawyer in New South Wales. He intends to be a criminal lawyer in the future.
It seems the financial system has much to work on in terms of security. Last year, a Tesco cash machine had a similar glitch and started giving away "free money."
