What happens when money is mistakenly wired into your bank account?

A friend of mine asked me an interesting question after a crazy experience... I guess 2 separate wires ended up in his bank account , one for hundreds of thousands and the other for 50 or so. After calling his bank to notify them several times, the first larger wire was reversed and the funds removed... He kept calling about the second, however no action was immediately taken by the bank. He called again. Make a long story short, several weeks then a month goes by. All of a sudden, he hits some hard times financially, and the money (which was comingled in his normal checking account) is now being dipped into... He doesnt make a tremendous amount of salary, and is about 14k into this %26quot;mistaken%26quot; money... He is wondering what to do at this point. i recommended just getting a loan or Credit Card to cover what he dipped into and calling the bank.

Was curious if anyone knew legally, or what not, what could happen to him at this point... Is that money ever his if the bank refused to act?

What happens when money is mistakenly wired into your bank account?

Ethically it was wrong for him to use this money - although his financial situation at the time might have made it confusing to keep tabs on the funds.

A month is way too long for a financial institution to leave that amount of money unresolved. I would remove the money and place it in a separate account, so not dip into it anymore. I would also have the bank give me the name of the bank or person that initiated the transfer and get in touch with them. They might be so happy that your friend is being honest that they may work out a payment plan for the difference or even forgive a portion of the debt.

There is also the chance that whatever caused the money to go into his account has now made the money untraceable. There are legal implications on this also, since the IRS will want to know where he got this money. Those amounts of transfers can implicate him in a money laundering scheme.

What happens when money is mistakenly wired into your bank account?

What likely happened is that the originator of the wire provided the wrong account number. Your friend should try not to spend that money as much as possible. It is entirely likely that it still may be rescinded. He should talk to someone at his bank ASAP.

What happens when money is mistakenly wired into your bank account?

The mistake will be found and the money will be taken out of his account. He may get into some trouble, because he knew the money was not his and he took it out. I would suggest he try to find a way to borrow the money from another source and put it back into the account as soon as possible. Then he should have a hold put on the account. He should also talk to someone in charge at the bank.

What happens when money is mistakenly wired into your bank account?

They will trace it and take it back.

That happend to me about 8 yrs ago with Bank1.

It was out of my account just as it came. I did not even get any explanation form the bank