Former Louisiana police dispatcher arrested after refusing to return $1.2 million accidentally put into account
A former Louisiana police dispatcher was arrested last week after she allegedly would not return $1.2 million that was accidentally deposited into her bank account.
According to Fox 8, Kelyn Spadoni, 33, has been fired from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after being charged with theft valued over $25,000, bank fraud and illegal transmission of monetary funds. Spadoni had worked for the department for 4.5 years.
Due to a clerical error, Charles Schwab deposited the extra funds in her account. Spadoni then moved the money to another account which prevented Schwab from retrieving the funds.
Charles Schwab was unable to contact Spadoni regarding the error and filed a lawsuit against her and have so far recovered around 75% of the money.
Authorities said that after she moved the money, Spadoni used some of it to buy a new house and a car, a 2021 Hyundai Genesis.
“She has no legal claim to that money,” Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, told NOLA.com. “Even if it was put in there by mistake. It was an accounting error.”
“If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they would want that money returned or credited to them. This is no different,” Rivarde added.
According to their lawsuit, Schwab said Spadoni’s contract stated she agreed to return any overpaid funds.
Spadoni was being held Thursday on $50,000 bond at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
