When Florida’s Julia Yonkowski checked on her bank account, she expected to find about $20 left in it. However, her jaw hit the floor when she saw that Chase Bank had deposited a staggering $999,985,855.94 – nearly one billion dollars – into her account by mistake. Although Julia could really use the money, she understands that it isn’t really hers and has been trying to return it to its rightful owner – but there is a catch, no one at the bank is taking her calls.
Julia lives in Largo, Florida, which is located west of Tampa. She first noticed the massive deposit into her account on Saturday. The large influx of cash has suddenly made Julia the 615th richest person in the United States of America. However, Julia, who prides herself in being honest, wants nothing more than to return the money to its rightful owner, so she doesn’t get in trouble for having it.
Julia reached out to Chase Bank, but no one is taking her request seriously, and no one has returned her calls. She has placed several calls to see who needs to get involved to get the money back to the right people.
“‘Oh my God, I was horrified. I know most people would think they won the lottery, but I was horrified,” she told WFLA. “When I put in for the $20, the machine came back and said we’ll give you the $20, but that’ll cause an overdraft and you will be charged, and I said, ‘Oh, just forget it.’”
“The real story here is 615 people in this country (that we know of) have more than that. Also, I’m sure if she spent even a penny, they’d bury her under the prison. Banks are absolutely ruthless, even when they’re wrong.”
“Possibly a money laundering ploy, I do believe. Something about moving it in and back out of random accounts without the account holder even knowing about it.”